Give Em' Hell Kid
by overbiter
Summary: AU: Quinn Fabray is the badass guitarist of a pop punk band. Rachel Berry just got the lead in a new film and needs to do some role research. Rachel joins Quinn's band on tour and is exposed to a new kind of lifestyle. Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Hello! Firstly, this is my first attempt at fan fiction. I guess that equates to PLEASE REVIEW and all that stuff, but you already know that. Second, I'm not sure if this matters but I am going to be uploading the first 2 chapters since they're both short yet necessary. This is unbetaed so any and all mistakes are mine entirely. Rated M for later chapters.

* * *

"No way man, this is bullshit!" Finn whined, folding his arms over his chest with a pout.

Quinn scoffed, because yeah, Finn was a 23 year old child. So was she of course, that's why she was in a band and more importantly the reason they were in this ridiculous situation.

Bowser Jr., fresh off of a successful run on Warped Tour, were called out to dinner with their manager, Kurt, to discuss their next moves. Big moves that included a headlining tour and studio dates. It was supposed to be an easy meeting, the bands and venues were set and they had already written a handful of songs. Things were going smooth until the check came and Kurt decided to drop his newest bomb on the band.

"Finn, this will be great for you guys, and the label picked you for specific reasons. First, she's pretty famous and hanging out with you guys will do wonders. Like when Adrian Brody started fan boying over Death Cab For Cutie. Second, they wanted a girl and Quinn is pretty much the only one on this label. If anyone should be complaining it should be her. She's the one that's going to have to show her the ropes." Kurt said. He raised his eyebrow as he turned to the pink haired girl next to him. Quinn's rose in response.

Puck grinned. "Dude, why are you even complaining? She's mad hot! Didn't you see Decaying Hearts?"

Finn scoffed. "Yeah, I did actually. That movie sucked. How can a zombie fall in love? They're dead! And then there was that ridiculous sex scene! With a zombie man! How is that possible? It would totally like...fall off or something." He finished with a frown.

Quinn groaned inwardly. No, his problem wasn't that some potentially difficult actress was about to hit the road with them to gain "learning experience", it was that she starred in an unrealistic sex scene.

"Look, Finn, she's already offered to pay for a bus and a driver." Kurt dead panned. Quinn fought off her urge to laugh at the now hopeful expression on her drummer's face. Yeah this is why Kurt was their manager. He knew how to deal with Finn's little diva moments.

"Really?" Finn asked, in awe.

Kurt nodded as Puck fist pumped, knocking over his water glass in the process. "Yes, and you know she'll keep that thing stocked with food and probably even pay for hotel rooms. So are you on board?"

Finn nodded, his goofy awestruck expression turned into an even goofier smile. Food was definitely the way to get Finn Hudson to do anything.

"Puck?" Kurt asked.

"FUCK YEAH!"

Kurt smiled and turned to Quinn, his icy blue eyes meeting Quinn's. Quinn knew he was anxious for her response. Finn might be the diva of the group but Quinn was the brains when it came to decisions like this. She was always the one that put up excellent arguments.

"You know I really hate the whole PR crap, that's the reason we're on this small label." She stated coolly, causing Kurt to take a sharp inhale. "But this movie sounds kind of cool. So my answer is yes." Kurt exhaled, relieved.

"Awesome, I'll call her manager right away and set things-"

"One condition though." Quinn interrupted. Kurt raised his eyebrow, waiting. "No bus." Finn yelled in protest and Puck looked crestfallen. "Look, if she's supposed to research for a role, she's going to do it in a van."

Kurt nodded, ignoring Finn's angry muttering. "Alright, I'll let them know. It was a pleasure kids." He said as he stood up from the booth and smoothed his pants. "I'll see you in one week!" He threw a few bills down onto the table and exited the small restaurant.

Puck smiled at his band mates. "Out of everyone, who do you think she'll end up sleeping with first?"

Finn groaned and Quinn rolled her eyes. "Come on lets get out of here. We have a tour to rehearse for."

* * *

Rachel Berry was not above making a scene in a restaurant. 5 stars or not. The paparazzi waiting outside be damned! This was not acceptable.

"Berry, do not fight me with this. You already agreed." Santana responded, dipping her fancy 5 star restaurant bread in a fancier dish of olive oil.

"Why wouldn't they want a bus though?" Rachel pouted, brown eyes wide and bottom lip jutted out. This was a serious situation that called for the big guns.

Santana actually snorted around her mouthful of 5 star bread at Rachel's expression. "Berry, the bus was never a guaranteed thing."

Damn Santana Lopez and her resistance to the puppy face.

"Look," Santana continued, black eyes hardening to her 'I am not dealing with your diva freakout' expression. It was one Rachel was very familiar with. "Mr. Big time Oscar winning director wants you to do this for the research. The studio wants you to do this for the PR. As a manager I want you to do this so we can get over the flop that was 'Decaying Hearts' and as your friend I want you to do this so you can get over your annoying penchant for the vanilla and learn how to have fun. REAL fun. I'm not sending you to join a gang or climb Mount Everest, you're going on a month long tour with a nerdy as hell pop-punk band. They're named after a Mario character for crying out loud!"

Rachel grinned at Santana's out burst. "How do you know that nerdy tid-bit of information, Lopez?"

Santana growled and rolled her eyes. "Chang used to play Super Mario Sunshine constantly when I lived in that apartment. It was why I moved out the minute I graduated."

Rachel was only slightly convinced. Sure, Santana's old roommate Mike was a hardcore gamer, but Rachel knew that Santana indulged every know and then in a run through of the original Pokemon games.

"Berry, nothing bad is going to happen. I will be there the entire time. It'll be good for you. This movie is already gaining buzz."

"Fine Santana, I'll do it."

"Excellent!" Santana hissed. "Trust me Berry, this part will be the one that puts you on the map as a real Hollywood actress. Then you can go back to crooning on Broadway or whatever the hell you want to do."

"You better be right." Rachel muttered. Her threat was lost as their waiter approached with their food. It didn't matter though. Rachel knew that Santana was almost never wrong.


	2. Chapter 2

"Look at all these fresh beautiful faces!" Kurt exclaimed. He bounded up to the 3 band members who were currently loading equipment from the garage into a trailer attached to a green Volkswagen bus. "How are we all doing on this glorious morning?"

"Kurt it's 7 am and we're loading heavy equipment into a trailer. It's safe to say it's pretty shitty." Finn groaned, hoisting an amp cabinet into the air and shimmying it into onto the trailer.

"But Finn, it's the first day of Bowser Jr's headlining tour! Get excited!" Kurt yelled, bouncing on his heels.

"Kurt, I love you, but I don't care at the moment." Puck moaned as he situated a tall bass cabinet onto a dolly and maneuvered it up the small ramp. "It's 7 am."

Kurt sighed as Quinn waddled past, holding a large bass drum over her head. "Where's the crew?"

Right on cue, a rundown Ford pick up pulled up to the curb and 2 blondes popped out. "Sorry we're late, Artie had some last minute adjustments." the blonde boy, Sam, said as he pulled a wheel chair out from the backseat and set it up.

"Yeah, it's super awesome!" the girl, Brittany, exclaimed as she ran into the garage.

"It is indeed awesome, but the reason we're late is hardly my fault." Artie stated as Sam lifted him out of the cab and helped him into the chair. "Sam took about an hour doing his hair and applying chap stick."

Sam scoffed and rolled Artie up onto the sidewalk. "Hey man, we're meeting a movie star today. Gotta make a good impression."

Quinn snorted as she walked past, carrying 2 guitar cases. "Like she'll be interested in any of us, especially you Froggy Lips. Now get off your ass and help." She thrust the two cases into Sam's hand.

"Someone's grumpy." Artie observed.

"No sleep." Quinn responded as she turned to Kurt. "When is she going to be here anyway?"

Kurt glanced down at his watch and frowned. "Their flight is scheduled to arrive in 20 minutes. I better get going if I'm going to pick them up in time!"

He spun on his heel and marched over to his black Ford Focus. "You all better be ready to go by the time we get back if we're going to be in Chicago by 1!"

"Yes sir!" Brittany responded as she strode out of the house carrying a large box of t shirts.

Quinn shook her head and smiled. "Need help, Britt?" She offered.

"Nah I got this. We all know I have the bigger guns anyway." Brittany responded as she slipped past Artie onto the trailer.

Puck and Finn came out of the garage, both wheeling to large black boxes.

"Quinn, I'm still mad at you for the bus thing." Finn whined as he passed Quinn.

"Tough shit Hudson." She responded. Finn hadn't let it go all week and probably never would.

Artie rolled up to the two boys. "All the mics, cables, and receivers are in here? He asked.

"Of course bro." Puck said with a smile as Sam walked out of the house with another box.

"All your drum hardware's in this one, right?" Sam asked. Finn shook his head. "Awesome, we just have the lights that Artie brought, his chair, and the suitcases and we're set!"

Puck hopped off the trailer and rolled the remaining equipment up the ramp. "Lets just hope this Berry chick doesn't have like, 500 suitcases."

Sam's ridiculously large mouth dropped open. "You don't think she's actually like that right? I mean...I've heard rumors but they're just rumors."

Brittany leaned onto the trailer. "I don't know, I read on tumblr that she once refused to shoot a scene without a room full of kittens!"

Quinn rolled her eyes but Sam just looked more horrified.

"Yeah? That's nothing. I once heard that she stopped a performance because a man was snoring in the front row, and refused to continue until he formally apologized to the entire theater." Artie supplied.

Finn groaned. "Great, and we get to spend a month with her. In a van!" He said, side eyeing Quinn.

Quinn shook her head and went back into the house, leaving her band mates to exchange more ridiculous rumors. No one could be that bad.

* * *

"Quit sulking Berry, we need to get to baggage claim and find a Kurt Hummel." Santana growled, dragging Rachel off of the airplane and into the lobby.

"I'm still upset with you for this morning! How do you expect me to go a month with two suitcases!" Rachel groaned, scanning the rest of the arrivals at Lima Airport.

That morning Santana had laughed in Rachel's face when the actress had attempted to carry 5 bags to the car. After a short giggle fit, she told Rachel to go back upstairs and consolidate to 2. There was a mini tantrum, complete with foot stomping and tears, but Santana managed to wrangle the diva back up to her apartment. Then, after more fighting over the fact that no, heels where never appropriate and punk shows, and more mini tantrums over each article of clothing and beauty product Santana forced Rachel to leave behind they were on their way.

Rachel huffed at the memory as she lifted her 2 (rather large but that was beside the point) bags from the carousel and followed Santana outside. The only plus side Rachel could think of about landing in Lima, Ohio, was the fact that there were no paparazzi waiting as they made their way to the curb.

"So I assume we're looking for some tough guy, though he did sound kind of fruity on the phone." Santana stated, scanning the idling cars and people floating around the arrivals.

Rachel looked absolutely appalled. "Santana! I'd assume that you of all people would know better than to judge someone's sexuality by their tone of voice!"

Santana shrugged. "I assumed you'd assume that I really don't care. You of all people should know that I calls em' like I see's em."

Rachel frowned and folded her arms over her chest. She was about to retort when she heard a small cough.

"Ahem, are you Miss Lopez?" a high pitch voice asked. Rachel turned and found the owner. A tall, fit man with perfectly coiffed brown hair, icy blue eyes, dressed in a very nice looking gray tweed suit. He had a warm smile on his face and in one hand clutched a sign that said "Lopez Party".

Santana looked about as shocked as Rachel felt. This was definitely not the "tattooed tough guy" they were expecting. "Um, yes I am. I assume you're Kurt Hummel?"

"Indeed." He said, offering Santana his free hand. "It's nice to meet you in person."

Santana nodded. "Same here."

Kurt turned to Rachel, his eyes twinkling. "And you must be Miss. Berry!" He exclaimed, offering his hand.

Rachel took it and shook it firmly with a smile. "Yes it's nice to meet you Kurt. Please call me Rachel."

Kurt seemed to hold back a squeal. "Ah, please forgive me but I absolutely loved you as Sally in the stage revival of Cabaret! You were brilliant!"

Rachel's jaw almost dropped. A young, Broadway fan with an excellent sense of style? Yeah definitely not what she was expecting. "Why thank you Kurt!"

Kurt took the bags from the women and nodded his head off to the parking lot. "Follow me ladies!"

Rachel and Santana followed him as he struggled to walk and carry 4 bags.

"So, Mr. Hummel," Santana said in her professional voice. Rachel started to make predictions on when professional Santana would disappear and demon Santana would reappear. "How did you get in the business?"

Kurt huffed, obviously struggling with the bags, as he approached a black Ford Focus. "Well, Finn, the drummer, is my step brother. They were having some trouble with a club owner at one of the first shows I was at, and I stepped in. Long story short I got the money, another gig for them there, and they insisted that I start managing them." He dropped the bags gently and opened the trunk. "It wasn't exactly my dream, but now I can't imagine doing anything else. Besides, they're all my best friends." He placed the bags into the trunk and opened the back door.

"I understand completely." Santana said with a smile. Rachel's jaw dropped. Was Santana being sentimental?

They got into the car and pulled out. "I just want to warn you guys, they're a little bit um...crazy. And loud. I can understand if you're intimidated by them at first but I can assure you that they're total sweet hearts and major dorks." Kurt said.

Rachel smiled. She liked Kurt. He was well dressed, handsome, polite, and a fan of her Broadway career as well! If she could deal with Bowser Jr 24/7 she definitely could. She was Rachel Berry after all.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Hey guys! I'm glad you're enjoying this so far. I'm going to be out of town for a few days next week but hopefully I'll be able to upload chapter 4 before I head out.

* * *

The black car slowed as it made it's way down a calm looking suburban street, complete with white picket fences and happy looking dogs playing in the front yard. The houses all looked identical and Rachel felt as if she had landed in the middle of Edward Scissorhands. She wondered if the house they were headed to was a gloomy looking castle on top of a large hill, complete with omnipresent lightning clouds and the sound of dissonant organs.

"Ladies, we're here!" Kurt said as he pulled the car into the driveway of a quaint green 2 story house. "I'll have the boys-OH GOD!"

Rachel followed Kurt's horror struck eyes to two large, tattooed men wrestling in the front yard. Kurt opened the door and the car was enveloped with the rowdy sounds of the two boys fighting.

"PUCK DO NOT INJURE HIM! WE NEED HIS MUSCLE!" Kurt yelled, hopping out of the car and opening Rachel's door. A tan skinned man with a mohawk and tattoos running up and down his arms and neck looked at Kurt with a guilty expression, and hopped off the blond he had pinned to the grass.

"Sorry Kurt." Puck said, ambling over to the car and leaving his friend in the grass whining. "Oh shut up Sam, you're being a total pussy."

The shaggy haired blond, Sam, sat up with a huff and rubbed the back of his neck. "Whatever man, I'll get you back."

"Boys our guests are here, can you please stop acting like you're 5 and introduce yourselves." Kurt asked as Rachel and Santana slid out of the car. Rachel noted that Kurt seemed mortified, but not surprised. Front yard wrestling must be ordinary shenanigans for these two.

Puck smiled at the two woman as Sam bounded over with a ridiculously large smile plastered to his face. Rachel had to actively keep herself from gaping at how ridiculously large it was. For a moment, she was reminded of the dementors from the Harry Potter series, but quickly shook that terrifying image out of her head.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Puck. I play bass and sing." The mohawked boy flashed a mischievous grin as he extended a hand to Rachel, unnecessarily flexing his muscles in the process.

Sam pushed Puck out of the way and offered his hand. Rachel couldn't tell if he had any tattoos since he was wearing a long sleeved sweatshirt, but she noticed the lime green framed, gaping holes in his ears. They were almost as large as his mouth. Okay, that was an exaggeration, but they were still huge. "Hi it's nice to meet you guys. I'm Sam, I haul stuff for the band. And I absolutely loved Decaying Hearts." He said.

Rachel shook his hand with a giggle. "It's nice to meet you Sam, Puck. Thank you."

Puck snorted as he lifted two of the bags from the trunk. "Suck up." He muttered as he passed.

Sam frowned. "What? It was a good movie."

"Don't tell Finn that." Puck responded.

Kurt shook his head as the blond grabbed the remaining bags and headed for the beat down looking hippie bus that was sitting at the end of the driveway. "Come on ladies, lets go inside and meet the rest of the gang."

Santana and Rachel followed Kurt into the house. The second the door opened they were met with loud thumping bass and fast drums. They stepped inside and saw three people, sitting in a comfortably furnished living room, jumping around playing air instruments.

"GUYS!" Kurt yelled over the track (the vocalist sounded more like he was screeching instead of singing, in Rachel's opinion). He stepped over to the iHome and hit the pause button. "Guys, I'd like you to meet Rachel Berry and her manager Santana Lopez."

Rachel didn't have time to say hello to the group due to the tall blonde woman that just threw herself into her arms.

"Hi! I'm Brittany!" she exclaimed, squeezing the singer in a bear hug.

Rachel chuckled and squeezed back. She totally appreciated this girls enthusiasm. "Hi Brittany. I'm Rachel!"

Brittany released her and bounded over to Santana. From Rachel's vantage point she could see the bewildered expression on Santana's face as she slowly looped her arms around the eager blonde.

Next was a ridiculously tall (seriously he towered over Rachel) boy, with a boyish face and brown hair sculpted into a faux hawk. "Hey, its nice to meet you guys, I'm Finn." He said. He was nowhere near as excited as Brittany, but extended a long tattooed arm to Rachel, who shook it.

"You play the drums, right?" Rachel asked, remembering the conversation she had with Kurt earlier. Finn nodded and moved back to the comfy looking arm chair he was sitting in before. He seemed a bit put off. She remembered Puck saying something about Finn not liking the movie and filed it away. She wasn't sure if she liked Finn yet.

The last remained in his spot. He was sitting in a wheel chair and dressed in a black tshirt and jeans, his kind brown eyes framed by square rimmed glasses. "It's nice to meet you both. My name's Artie." He said with a wave. Rachel waved back and Santana nodded, her eyes still trained on Brittany who was bouncing excitedly next to her. Rachel smiled at her oblivious friend, yeah she totally knew that look.

Kurt glanced down at his watch. "Alright guys, we really need to be going. Where's Quinn?" He asked.

Finn slunk out of the house with a shrug, followed by Artie who exchanged a look with Kurt that looked almost sympathetic.

"I think she went back to sleep." Brittany stated as she followed her friends.

Kurt sighed. "Alright, I'll go get her. You guys wait here." He said, disappearing up the staircase.

Rachel waited until they were alone before breaking the silence. "Someone's got a crush!"

Santana rolled her eyes. "Please."

Rachel giggled. "Oh come on, I've known you since we were 11. I know that look." She poked her manager in the side who responded with a scoff.

"Berry, you know Lopez doesn't do that love bullshit. But I think I may have just found myself a new fuck buddy."

Rachel rolled her eyes after Santana's unnecessary pimp commentary. Santana knew that Rachel knew that yes, she most certainly did do that whole love bullshit.

Rachel was about to respond when Kurt's voice came floating down the stairs.

"Seriously Quinn, 5 minutes!" he yelled as he came back into the room. He looked at the woman with a smile. "Alright ladies, follow me to the Mystery Machine!"

Rachel looked at Santana who shrugged, and they followed Kurt out the door. Outside, Sam and Puck were gently placing Artie into the front passenger seat of 'The Mystery Machine', as Brittany was placing the wheel chair onto the trailer.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Rachel asked as they approached the group. Santana looked at Rachel, completely bewildered.

"Really?" Santana whispered.

Rachel just nodded with a broad smile. Of course she was just trying to be polite, they looked like they were all set. But she didn't want to come off as an abrasive diva (though she fully acknowledged that she had the potential to be a diva at times, and could sometimes come off as abrasive to those that didn't know her) since they were about to spend a month with these people.

"Nah, we're all set. Though I hope you have guns, Berry because once we get there you're carrying the amps." Puck retorted, looking at Rachel seriously. Apparently he saw right through Rachel's well timed politeness.

Rachel gasped and looked at Santana. "What?" She staged whispered in disbelief. "No one told me I'd have to actually work."

Puck laughed. "Yeah, you're making yourself useful. We had to have Tina and Mike sit this tour out to make sure there was enough room in the van."

"Why didn't you tell me this?" Rachel demanded, jaw dropped.

Santana shrugged "What, you thought the director wanted you to do this just to stand there?"

Rachel opened and closed her mouth in attempts to respond, but couldn't find the words. Of course she should have known she would be put to work. Wasn't that the reason they refused the bus?

Brittany smiled and threw an arm around the flustered diva's shoulders. "Don't worry, I'll make sure they don't kill you. Besides, you're just going to be doing merch with me."

Rachel smiled up at Brittany, who was looking down at her with excited blue eyes.

Yeah she definitely liked Brittany. And Kurt and Sam. And Artie. She didn't like Puck's sarcasm, or how stand offish Finn was, but then again she only knew them for about 10 minutes.

Okay, so these weren't the people she was expecting. She had pictured multicolored hair, and liberty spikes held in place by Elmer's glue. The house was cozy and well furnished. There wasn't any beer cans and graffiti on the walls like she had seen in SLC Punk (research!) or bare mattresses and bongs scattered about like in American Idiot (not research, it was a Broadway musical after all).

"Alright guys, everybody in the van!" Kurt exclaimed, clapping his hands. "Where the Hell is Quinn?"

"ON IT!" Artie yelled from his spot in the front seat. He leaned over and applied pressed to the horn and the van let out a long dying wail.

Rachel clambered into the van after Santana, settling in the middle spot in the back seat. She had to admit that even though she'd rather be in a bus with a comfortable bunk, traveling across the country in a VW was a pretty cool idea. In theory. Who knows how it'd actually turn out.

Kurt, Puck, Finn, and Brittany all squeezed into the middle seat while Sam hopped up into the driver's position.

Sam hit the horn again and stuck his head out the window. "QUINN FABRAY GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE WE ARE LEAVING!"

A tall, pink hair girl stumbled out of the house, flipping off the van and checking to make sure the door was locked behind her. She half jogged her way to the van and...whoa. Rachel had to fight to keep her mouth closed as the girl hopped into the van, slamming the door closed behind her and settling in the seat next to Rachel. She was breathtaking.

"Sorry," Quinn muttered.

"Whatever man, everybody ready?" Sam asked. Everybody besides the back seat hollered as Sam turned the ignition. The old van sputtered to life, and veered onto the road with a rickety start. "We are now officially on tour!" He exclaimed.

Kurt turned around on his seat with slight difficulty due to the slight tremors of the van, eyes trained on the half asleep woman beside Rachel. He cleared his throat. "Quinn, I'd like you to meet Rachel Berry and her manager, Santana Lopez."

Quinn opened her eyes and finally acknowledged the two women next to her. Rachel's heart fluttered as golden eyes raked over her skeptically. "Hey." she muttered and closed her eyes again. Santana grumbled a "Hey" back as Rachel struggled for words for the first time in her life. If she wasn't so preoccupied with the girl sitting next to her she probably would have had a panic attack because of it. Rachel Berry was _never _at a loss for words.

This girl next to her was an angel, a goddess! She was all of the above and not, because Rachel had never seen anyone like her in her life. Her perfectly sculpted face was framed by a mop of messy pink hair, with random blonde patches that reminded Rachel of pink lemonade and hot summer days. Her face was relaxed, plump lips slightly parted and with a skinny silver ring piercing through her perfectly sculpted nose. Rachel's eyes skimmed down her neck, feeling her mouth go dry. Quinn's torso was covered by a loose black shirt with a skull on it that she vaguely recognized as the logo for the Misfits (research!). Her pale arms were inked with zombies, sugar skulls, and other colorful monsters and delicate words. Her legs were clad in tight ripped jeans and Rachel was glad that Quinn's eyes were closed so she wouldn't notice Rachel's stare.

Santana nudged the diva in the ribs, knocking her out of her daze. "Looks like someone's got a cruuuuuuuuush!" she muttered mockingly.

Rachel looked up at her manager with an angry pout, while Santana grinned. "Whatever." She muttered and folded her arms across her chest.

It was quiet in the van besides the occasional groaning of the van (that had Rachel more than a little worried) and the murmurings of Finn and Puck. They were arguing over 'the benefits of evolving Growlithe in its later levels', and whether Red Gyrados _really _counted as a shiny Pokemon since everyone had the chance to catch one. The van's coughing and rocking seemed to settle as they pulled onto a highway.

"So Rachel," Artie said, breaking the silence. He turned over and offered a friendly smile. "What kind of music do you like?"

Rachel fidgeted. She wasn't sure Quinn was asleep yet, and she wanted to impress her. Apparently she was in 9th grade, where she once tried to impress a boy by dressing "like a G". Safe to say that didn't go too well.

"Well, Artie, Broadway is my one true love but of course I enjoy a little bit of everything. My favorite singer would have to be the lovely and talented Barbra Streisand, but my favorite band would have to be Coldplay." She stated, satisfied with her answer.

Finn and Puck looked over their shoulders with confused expressions. They didn't seem impressed. So that meant Quinn, who had her eyes firmly closed, wouldn't be impressed right? No of course, Quinn wouldn't be impressed with Coldplay. Who was she kidding?

"Um, I also uh...love the Misfits?" She said, looking at Quinn's shirt. Of course it was a lie, she never listened to the Misfits in her life, despite the fact that they were named after a Marilyn Monroe film (more research!). Quinn was wearing their shirt though, so she was satisfied with her answer. Jesus, she had known Quinn for a little over 3 minutes and she was reduced to a desperate stuttering school girl. This was bad.

Quinn chuckled and Rachel felt her face flush with heat. The pink haired woman opened her eyes and smiled, completely amused, before turning over to face the window and settling to make herself comfortable. Could she tell Rachel was lying? Was she a mind reader? Of course she was. She should have learned her lesson back in 9th grade.

Rachel started to panic as Artie laughed from the front seat.

"That's pretty bad ass, Rachel. I think we can listen to some of them, how about you Sam."

Sam nodded in agreement and turned the stereo on. The van was filled with fast drums, loud distorted guitars, and a deep voice crooning about...did he just say he killed a baby? Rachel felt her face drop in absolute horror because he totally did. He just said that he killed a baby! She bit her tongue. She had wanted to ask to make sure this song was made up and not based on real life events, but didn't want to give herself away. Seriously, that would be a good cover for someone who actually was murdering innocent victims. Sing about it as if they were a joke. She made a mental reminder to recheck their Wikipedia page when she got some alone time.

Santana leaned over, her eyes shimmering with mirth. "Good start Berry."

Rachel rolled her eyes. This was going to be one interesting month.

* * *

Quinn had spent the entirety of the 5 hour drive to Chicago asleep, since she hadn't gotten any the night before. It was normal for her to have trouble sleeping the night before a tour, but last night was ridiculous. The few hours she did manage to sleep she spent tossing and turning as she dreamed of strange brunettes singing show tunes and being chased around by zombies.

She woke up to Puck, shaking her violently, as the group bustled around the outside of the van. "We're here sleepy head." He sing songed. She punched his arm gently and stretched out with a yawn.

"That was quick."

He laughed, "You were asleep the entire time. Why so tired?"

"Nightmares." She muttered as she rubbed her eyes with the heel of her palm. Puck nodded sympathetically.

"That Berry chick is hotter in person, huh?" He asked, his frown turning to a grin. She rolled her eyes.

"I didn't really get the chance to look at her yet."

"Dude you were practically cuddling with her the entire ride!" He laughed.

Quinn's eyes widened in horror.

"No!" she exclaimed, absolutely mortified.

"Eh, not really." He said, running his hand over his mohawk. Quinn frowned and he giggled at her gullibleness. "You did end up with your head on her shoulder for a little while though."

"UGH!" Quinn groaned as Puck cackled.

"Come on Pinkie the Fabray!" He said, singing the old cartoon theme. "We got a show to set up for."

Quinn sighed as she followed him out of the van and into the venue, where Kurt and Finn were talking to a burly looking guy, who had a shaved head covered in tattoos.

"I just don't understand why they need wristbands _and_ laminates!" Kurt asked.

The burly guy shrugged. "Security reasons. We found a lot of kids making fake ones."

Kurt huffed as the stranger walked away.

"Whats up?" Quinn asked, looking around. Sam and Artie were already bustling around on the stage, along with about 5 other unfamiliar techs and 3 guys wearing STAFF shirts. The venue was large, and kind of dingy looking, but the floor space was huge. She was excited for later that night, when it would be filled with sweaty kids singing along to her band's music and going crazy.

"Here's your passes and wristbands." Kurt said, handing each of them a laminated card and a blue strip. Quinn inwardly groaned, she hated those wristbands, and more specifically how difficult they were to get off. "We're going to start setting up now so you guys can sound check, and then have Spit Shine and Lavender Tower set their equipment up in front of yours."

Quinn nodded as she slipped the wristbands on and clipped the laminate to her belt loop. It was pretty basic stage setup for club tours like this one. Each band would have their equipment onstage before the show started, and would tear down after their set finished. It slowly opened up the stage,allowing more room for the more popular bands, and made the transitions smoother and easier.

"Then, after the sound check, you guys have a short interview with a local blogger and a quick meet and greet for the 30 kids that pre ordered tickets." Kurt stated.

Finn smiled, "This is totally awesome. Who ever thought we'd be headlining?"

Quinn nodded in agreement. They had started Bowser Jr. back when they were Sophomores in high school just so they could beat one of Finn's arch nemeses who had been bragging about some dance routine. They had ended up winning with a cover of "Dammit" by Blink 182, and decided to keep the band going. Soon they were offered to play their friends parties, then shows at local venues, and eventually ended up in the van on a small twelve date tour. Now they were here. It definitely wasn't what the 3 of them had in mind when they had started out.

"Alright guys, go start helping with the equipment so we can get this show on the road. Sound check's at 3:30. After that head to the dressing room back stage so we can get the interviews rolling. I have to go talk to the club owner." Kurt said and walked off.

Quinn, Puck, and Finn walked back outside to the trailer. The September air was chilly, and Quinn shivered at the light breeze that was starting to pick up around her.

"So how bad is Rachel?" Quinn asked her band mates. She was curious since she had been asleep the entire time she had known her.

"She was kind of quiet." Finn said with a shrug.

Puck nodded, "Yeah but she did kind of freak out a little when we told her she'd been helping."

"I think she's just being polite for now." Finn continued. "We'll have full on diva temper tantrums by tomorrow."

Quinn hummed, since she couldn't exactly state her opinion, and made her way over to the van. Finn normally was wrong about these things and hoped that was the case this time. Outside their trailer, Brittany was standing next to an unfamiliar woman that must have been Rachel's manager.

"Sup guys?" Finn asked, running up onto the trailer. Brittany smiled at them and Rachel's manager frowned, looking annoyed.

"Hey Finn. Nothing really. We're about to set up the merch booth." Brittany responded. Rachel's manager huffed and turned away, stomping into the venue.

"Whoa whats up with her?" Quinn asked, disconcerted by this woman's obvious attitude problem.

Brittany shrugged. "I think she likes me. She kept winking and touching my arm."

Finn laughed as he reappeared from inside the trailer carrying a guitar cabinet. "Can't keep the ladies away, can you Britt?"

Quinn laughed, too. Brittany certainly was talented at picking up ladies. Or as Puck liked to say, Brittany was a total babe magnet. (Though Quinn was too, she just wasn't as good with that whole game as Brittany was) It wasn't that much of a surprise that this woman was interested, although Quinn resolved that she'd have to keep on eye on her. Brittany was kind hearted and gullible. More often than not Quinn had to rush to her friend's rescue because of it.

"What can I say? I'm the O.G!" Brittany said.

Quinn shook walked onto the trailer and grabbed two guitar cases, leaving her friends to talk about girls on the sidewalk.

"Santana you should be helping too. You took a spot from their regular crew as well!"

Quinn almost dropped the guitar cases because that voice was incredible. She turned her head to the source and saw two women behind the merch table, Santana was facing Quinn and a shorter brunette had her hands on her hips. Quinn rolled her eyes at the typical diva stance. The shorter one must have been Rachel. She decided to go over to the table and properly introduce herself to the actress.

"Hello." Quinn said coolly as she approached the table. Santana looked up and the small girl spun around. Quinn's eyes immediately locked with chocolate brown ones. She let her gaze drift over Rachel's smooth tan skin, abs that were peeking through her striped black and white sweater, and jean clad legs that were ridiculously long for someone so short. She forced her gaze back up to those brown eyes and felt something in her stomach clench. This girl was absolutely stunning up close and in person.

Rachel's expression immediately turned from annoyance to awe as she registered Quinn. "Oh hello." She stated, her voice wavering.

Quinn gave a tiny smile, suddenly wishing she hadn't been asleep during the long drive. "Um, I just wanted to say hey because I didn't really...properly introduce myself."

Rachel's eyebrows knit together momentarily before beaming up at Quinn. "Well it's nice to officially meet you!" Rachel exclaimed, completely overeager.

Quinn nodded hesitantly. This girl was totally gorgeous...but kind of strange. She reminded her of a pomeranian or some other small, cute, and loud dog. "Well um, I have to go set up. It was nice to uh actually meet you guys."

Rachel nodded, a little too vigorously. "You too Quinn!" She exclaimed with a megawatt smile as Quinn turned to head to the stage. She could have sworn she heard Santana snort behind her.

Quinn wasn't sure what to make of Rachel just yet, but if the fluttering feeling of butterfly wings she still had in her stomach was anything to go off of, she was in trouble.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Wow guys, I'm sorry for the wait. Life got in the way and all that other stuff. And I hate to be a review whore, but they're totally appreciated. Thanks to everyone thats read up to this point!

* * *

"Yeah, we're absolutely thrilled to be out here on this tour. We're great friends with the guys in both bands and we're really excited for everyone to see what they're capable of!" Finn said enthusiastically.

Quinn, Finn, and Puck were sitting in the middle of the Starbucks with some random hipster kid with a blog that apparently was pretty famous, although Quinn had never heard of him before. She was getting tired again, making a mental note to tell Sam to make sure there were plenty of Red Bulls on her side of the stage tonight. The sound check had run long because there were problems with the house PA system, and this famous blogger guy was the 'I am internet famous and my opinion on music is definitive' type. The day was dragging and she gladly sat back for this one, letting Finn and Puck answer more of the questions. She was never really one for interviews, even when the other person was nice. In the beginning, Kurt would always lecture her after them about how much of a bitch she sounded like until finally learning to let the boys do the talking.

Hipster Blogger Guy nodded and typed something quickly down onto his Mac book. "Alright, just one more question. Is it true that Broadway legend and zombie romance movie star, Rachel Berry, is joining you on this tour?" He asked, his eyebrows arching over his thick rimmed glasses.

Puck nodded with a smile, "Yes she is."

"Why's that?"

Quinn shot Hipster Blogger Guy a tight lipped smile. "You'll see." She answered curtly. Kurt had informed them all the night before to tell everyone possible that Rachel was on tour with them, but not tell why just yet as per the studio's request. Something about generating buzz. Quinn hated that part of the deal, but complied.

Finn glanced at her with his 'Quinn, you're being kind of a bitch again' face, and she ignored him. Like when he always gave him that look.

"Well awesome. Thanks for your time guys. The interview should be published tomorrow." Hipster Blogger Guy said, placing his Mac Book gently into a back pack and standing up. "I look forward to the show tonight guys." He shook all three of their hands, and exited the coffee shop.

"Thank God that's over." Quinn muttered and Puck laughed.

"Yeah, he was kind of a douche." Puck agreed.

Finn sighed and stood up. "Come on, we've gotta get back to the venue. We have the meet and greet."

Puck and Quinn followed him out of the shop and they made their way back to the club, discussing their set list for the night and the new super cool lights Artie had designed for the show.

When they reached the venue it was 5 o'clock, and people were already starting to line up outside the doors. Normally, Quinn would've gladly walked over and talked to them, but since they had the meet and greet that kids had paid extra money for she hoped they wouldn't notice. Thankfully, Joe, the dread locked clad singer of Spit Shine who was famous for walking around dirty venues barefoot, was out talking to the dozen or so people and they slipped into the side door unnoticed.

Kurt was sitting on the couch in the dressing room, tapping his foot when they entered. He immediately shot up when he noticed them and directed them through the backstage to a card table set up in front of the merch booth. "Alright guys, there's only 30 kids so you can take your time." Kurt said. "Pictures are allowed if they ask for them, too." Quinn nodded, glad to be able to have the time. She hated when they had to do those things quick, even if most of the people where just happy to say a quick hello and get an autograph.

They sat down at the table and waited for Kurt to return with the fans. Puck and Finn had decided to have a sword fight with their sharpies while Quinn fought to keep her eyes open.

"Brittany, I can't reach!"

"Yes you can Rachel, stand on your tippy toes!"

Quinn turned around and watched as Brittany laughed at the tiny star, who was currently stretching to maximum capacity trying to hang a price tag to one of the t-shirts.

"Brittany, while I appreciate that you are trying to teach a lesson in 'Never Giving Up', I'm afraid that this is just one situation where my energy and drive will not help. I am physically unable to reach that shirt!" Rachel huffed, turning around and handing Brittany the price tag. Quinn couldn't determine whether she thought the look on Rachel's face was adorable, or the unnecessary speech she gave was annoying.

"Uh...Quinn?" an unfamiliar voice asked. Quinn shook her head and looked up. Apparently the meet and greet had started, and she smiled up at the young boy wearing a Bowser Jr. t-shirt and signed his poster.

Quinn's focus was split between the fans asking to take pictures with her and Rachel, who was sitting behind the merch counter setting things up. She wasn't even focused enough to feel guilty for her half hearted responses and barely there smiles because her mind was reeling. Rachel was standing _right there, _and she just couldn't figure out why her stomach was flipping like that. One minute the girl was being absolutely adorable and the next insufferable, and Quinn's mind was reeling trying to figure out whether she liked it or didn't want to have any part of it.

Finally, the last person in line had stuttered out a shaky thank you to the band, who had just took a picture with her. Quinn stood up, hoping to get over to the merch booth and talk to Rachel in order to figure her out better. Or more importantly, her _feelings. _She took a step forward, but Kurt grabbed her arm.

"It's 5:58! You guys need to be out of sight!" He explained hurriedly, dragging Quinn forward with the boys in tow.

It was a small room, considering that it was to be shared by 3 bands and their crews, but it was nice. There was a fridge stocked with alcohol, water, and soda. There were 3 squashy red couches, a few mismatched arm chairs and a vanity in the corner. A large, flat screen TV covered one of the walls, and there was an attached bathroom with a private shower which she would take full advantage of later. On tour, you never knew when the next chance to shower would come up and sometimes, you could go weeks without actually taking one. There were plenty of times Quinn had to sponge bathe herself and one time out of desperation she stood out in the middle of a rainstorm in her underwear trying to wash the shampoo out of her hair.

Quinn dropped herself onto one of the couches and slumped over, closing her eyes. This day was too overwhelming, and they still had a long while before they played.

She was almost asleep when she felt the couch dip and an arm slip around her.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?" she groaned, repositioning herself out of whoever was holding her's grasp and into the arm of the couch..

"You look kind of bad." Finn said with a light laugh. Quinn slapped his shoulder lightly and sat up.

"What, come on dude. Are you feeling okay? You slept the whole ride up here and you're still tired." Finn said, this time genuinely concerned.

Quinn sighed. "I don't know. I think I need to get some air. Get my head straight."

Finn nodded and watched Quinn stand up. "Alright, go get ready. We need you to be on top of your game!" He yelled as Quinn exited the dressing room.

* * *

Rachel was absolutely overwhelmed with the amount of people standing in front of the merch stand right now. She hoped no one would notice that she just handed this kid a $20 in change instead of a $10. She was always terrible at math but this was ridiculous. How did Brittany handle this on her own?

"Berry, these all end in 10's and 5's. Keep up the pace." Santana said as she exchanged a t shirt for a $20.

Rachel huffed and frowned at Santana. She was trying to remember the system Brittany had told her earlier, but frankly it didn't make sense.

_T shirts are $20 because that number begins with T_

Rachel had understood that.

_Sweatshirts are $30 because Kurt said so._

Okay that wasn't a good way to remember it...but Rachel was still following.

_CD's are $10 because Lord Tubbington refuses to pay more when he could just download it for free off the internet._

Who the Hell was Lord Tubbington?

Rachel shook her head as she handed over a black t shirt to a rather annoyed looking girl who threw the money onto the counter.

Well shit. At least no one had recognized her yet.

"Hey are you Rachel Berry?" The next customer, a wide eyed young man who had a gaping hole in the side of his nose similar to Sam's ear piercing.

Rachel couldn't help but gap at the hole. People actually stretched their nose rings?

Santana pushed Rachel aside and took care of the boy with the hole in his nose. "Go take a break Rachel. Before you have a panic attack or something."

Rachel nodded and ran off, flashing her backstage pass to a body guard before disappearing into the maze that was the "backstage area". She could hear the loud but muffled thumping of the first band, Lavender Tower (what was with these video game related band names?) and wandered around aimlessly. She didn't want to go into the dressing room because she wanted to be alone, and knew that all 3 bands had to share. She was absolutely horrified when she learned that each individual musician wouldn't get their own private room! How did these people live?

She followed the hallway up a flight of stairs, and ended up on the roof. It was chilly, Chicago certainly earned the title the windy city. The skyline was painted orange and red as the sun set and Rachel sighed. It was a nice view.

She sat on the gravelly roof, leaning against a large metal air vent, and looked out over the city. It reminded her of New York, and Broadway. She missed Broadway. There she didn't have to get hands on experience for her roles. The parts she played there were supposed to be dramatic and larger than life, and while she needed to make her emotions and dialogue believable, they were all fairy tales. She missed that.

The sound of tuning guitar strings broke Rachel from her nostalgic daydreams. She stood up, and followed the sound. Quinn was leaning on the other side of the air vent. She was clutching an acoustic guitar, with a cigarette dangling from her mouth.

"Quinn." She whispered, almost hoping the other woman wouldn't hear. She looked so perfect in that moment.

Quinn looked up from her instrument, her hazel eyes widened in surprise. She coughed and fixed her face back to a calm expression. If any one else had seen her, they wouldn't have noticed but Rachel was nothing if not observant.

"Hey." Quinn muttered, fingering a chord and strumming.

Rachel wrung her hands together. "I'm sorry for interrupting you." She said, with a nervous laugh.

Quinn shook her head, but didn't remove her eyes from the strings. "No worries."

Rachel nodded and caught her bottom lip between her teeth. Why was she suddenly more nervous than she was when she was behind the merch table? Her heart was jack hammering.

Quinn stopped playing and looked up from her guitar. "Are you going to sit down?" She asked. Her tone was serious but her lips quirked up for a moment in a barely there smile.

"No, I don't think so. You're obviously warming up. I understand how important that is before a live performance, though I would suggest putting that cigarette out if you're going to sing." Rachel continued.

Quinn laughed and shook her head. "You're really annoying, aren't you?"

Rachel frowned. "What does that mean?"

"Nothing, you don't have to go." Quinn muttered. She dropped her eyes back down her guitar and started playing again. It was quiet for a moment, as the notes carried over the rooftop, Quinn focused on the song and Rachel debating whether or not she should stay.

"Wait a minute, I know this song. Radiohead?" Rachel asked.

Quinn nodded, taking her hands off the string in order to put out her cigarette.

Rachel smiled. "I love Radiohead."

"Cool." Quinn muttered, placing her fingers over the strings again. This time, Rachel hummed along to the melody of High and Dry as Quinn played.

The song finished and Quinn stood up abruptly. "Well, I need to go stretch."

Rachel nodded. "I understand. Stretching is very important before a performance. It would be unfortunate if you ended up pulling something while doing your routine."

Quinn laughed and shook her head. "You're ridiculous." She stated, turning around.

Rachel was about to retort that no, that wasn't ridiculous, and even though she wasn't sure about the actual dancing Quinn would be doing onstage, she respected her fellow performers, but Quinn had walked away.

Rachel sighed, finally slumping down onto the roof. She wasn't sure what to make of Quinn, she was quiet and stand offish, but had the prettiest smile she had ever seen and from what she had seen so far _talented. _Talent was something that Rachel Berry could appreciate, even if it wasn't in the sophisticated and traditional ways she was used to. Rachel was sure that if any of the others had acted that way, they would have been enemies. But there was just something about Quinn that made Rachel have this unexplainable urge to try something. What exactly that was though, she wasn't sure.


	5. Chapter 5

Rachel had watched Spit Shine's set from her spot at the merch table feeling _horrified_. They were loud, playing dissonant melodies with indistinguishable lyrics. To make matters worse, their singer looked like a tree, spouting dreadlocks from his head and angry looking tattoos all over his naked torso.

Not only was the music straight up violent, but the crowd was as well. They were angrily throwing their elbows around and stomping, not caring whether their fists came into contact with the person standing next to them. Some people where jumping on the backs of complete strangers in order to fling themselves over the crowd and body surf. It was absolute _anarchy._

"Santana, these people are animals!" She whispered in horror. Santana laughed.

"What, you've never been to a rock concert?" She asked in response.

Rachel's brow furrowed. No, she really hadn't. She had seen American Idiot on Broadway, but everyone was sitting and the choreography (which at the time she thought seemed a bit ridiculous) could have been from Sweating To The Oldies compared to this.

"Relax Rachel," Brittany said brightly, jumping up to sit on the table. "We're a lot better than these guys."

Rachel nodded, hoping the blonde was right. How was she supposed to take note and learn anything if the performers that were her mentors were untalented? She would call the movie studio herself and demand to be relocated to a more well suited act.

Rachel wasn't sure how long she had been spaced out planning an overly dramatic diva speech in case she had to call the studio, but she was snapped out by Brittany and Santana clapping and yelling. She looked up to the stage and noticed that the stage was dark. The only thing she could make out was a large banner hanging behind the drum set. It was black and had a small, mischievous, looking turtle (or maybe it was a dinosaur) holding a baseball bat with the words "BOWSER JUINOR" draped above it in varsity font.

Then, a chord progression started up, followed by fast drumming and a thumping bass line. Bright red lights washed over the stage, revealing the band. The crowd cheered as the band started playing their first song. It was a fast passed with relentless drum beats and accompanying guitar chords, but unlike Spit Shine. It felt like she was getting beat up, but she was _happy_ about it.

Finn was hammering away at his drums with a goofy smile, sweat already starting to coat his skin as lights shined off of his forehead. Puck was jumping around, completely focused on his erratic movements and swinging his bass around as if it were a weapon. Rachel was surprised he could play while he was moving like that. She looked over to ask Brittany if he was _okay, _but the blonde girl looked thrilled. Rachel figured Puck must always act like he was having a seizure onstage.

Quinn was the only person standing still. She was strumming her chords and looking at her guitar, disinterest painted on her face. If Rachel was closer, she would have lectured the girl to _do something_ because these kids payed for a show. So far, surprisingly Finn was the only one who had good stage presence. Not too hot like Puck and his tornado like movements, and not too cold like Quinn who was still just standing there. Rachel made a few notes, not thinking about how these types of performances weren't her area of expertise. She was going to teach them how to put on a real show. Their first lesson would be stage smiles.

When Quinn opened her mouth and started singing, Rachel forgot all about how Puck was really in danger of hurting himself. The girls voice was low and surprisingly smooth. Rachel was impressed, and a little jealous. Quinn was obviously talented, she could sing and write music and play guitar (all at the same time), and she was gorgeous. Rachel had to fight the familiar tingles shooting through her belly at the way the pink haired girl looked as she sang out.

"_And all this is nothing but it's broken for something,I just haven't found the reason yet. We keep running in circles and though my legs are tired you don't seem to break a sweat"_

Rachel's jaw dropped. Those lyrics were awesome, and they were actually really good (despite the fact Puck was now attempting to do some ridiculous sort of back bend that he just wasn't flexible enough to accomplish). She was slightly ashamed of herself for formulating exit strategies only moments ago.

Santana nudged her in the ribs. "How do you like it so far?" She yelled over the song.

Rachel nodded with a bright smile. "It's actually really great!"

Brittany smiled and extended her hand for Rachel to high five. "I told you so!"

Rachel high fived the girl back and laughed. "That you did!"

Rachel found herself enjoying the music more and more with each song. They were exciting, and Quinn and Puck had their stage banter down pat. The crowd was going absolutely insane, and Rachel had to admit that watching them slam their bodies into each other and throwing themselves around made slightly more sense. The music was actually good this time around. She herself fought the urge to crowd surf by telling herself that was an adventure that would make more sense when she wasn't so exhausted from traveling.

Finally the lights dimmed and Sam walked on stage, helping Quinn exchange her electric guitar for her acoustic. Puck and Finn sauntered off, both the boys drinking greedily from bottles of water as Quinn approached the microphone.

"So is it alright if we slow things down for a moment?" Quinn asked. The crowd yelled loudly and Quinn chuckled. "Good, because I was going to play this song even if you didn't want to."

She strummed out a few chords and cleared her throat. "So this song is one that I'm sure everyone in here knows. It was my favorite song back in high school, and still is for that matter. It's helped me through a lot of rough times and I really would like to share it with you guys, even if it's just a shitty cover. So please sing along if you know the words, or you can try to if you don't."

The audience grew quiet as she started playing the song. Rachel couldn't recognize it, but it didn't matter. Quinn was singing as if she had written every word, as if this song was her. As far as Rachel was concerned it was.

"_As I'm talking my words slip to the floor  
and they crawl through your legs and slide under the back door  
rendering me freakish and dazed..."_

Rachel looked up at the stage in awe at Quinn. Even from her distance she could make out the deep expression in the girls eyes, pained and lonely as they reflected the house lights and the glow of the one hundred or cellphones random people in the crowd had raised. The moment seemed so intimate, as if Quinn was singing alone in her bedroom instead of the crowd of about 2000 people. It made Rachel feel something tight in her chest.

Yeah, she was definitely impressed by Bowser Junior.

* * *

"You. Guys. Were. INCREDIBLE!" Kurt exclaimed, pulling Finn, Puck and Quinn into a group hug. "Absolutely fantastic! The kids loved you!"

Quinn laughed as she griped her arms around her friends and pulled them in tighter. Kurt was right, the show was absolutely awesome. They had played flawlessly, and the crowd had been enthusiastic. Quinn felt electrified from the performance.

Once Kurt broke their hug, Sam bounded up high fived everyone. "Excellent show guys! You kicked ass!" He said, a large smile stretched widely across his face. "And you know it's just going to get better from here on out!"

Quinn laughed. "You kicked ass tonight too." She said to Sam, who beamed appreciatively. Quinn always liked to make sure that everyone, whether they were performing or not, knew that they were essential to the show as well.

"Alright enough doddling!" Kurt yelled, placing a hand on Finn's shoulder to stop him from jumping around. "We have to get all the equipment and merch back in the van, then you guys have like an hour to talk to fans. Then we need to find something to eat and hit the road. It's almost 8 hours to Minneapolis!"

Quinn nodded and followed her friends back onto the stage. The audience had cleared out and the house lights were on. Artie, and a few of the crew guys from the other band and the venue, were already on stage packing away microphones and wrapping instrument cables.

"Awesome job tonight Artie!" Quinn exclaimed as she walked up to her guitar amp.

"You too Quinn. Have I ever told you how thankful I am for you guys?" Artie said, dropping a wrapped guitar cable into a black box with "BWSR JR" spray painted on the sides.

"Aw, Artie!" Finn said, ruffling the boys hair as he walked by.

Artie chuckled and shook his head. "Yeah you guys are great. Without you these kids would never see my brilliant light show. I'm pretty sure that's' why we sold out tonight."

Quinn laughed as she wheeled her half stack down the ramp on the side of the stage. "Of course Artie. You're the entire draw of the show. We just provide backing music."

With the combined efforts of the three bands, they got the trailer packed in record time and were standing outside on the curb talking to a few kids that had stuck around.

"Quinn, can I get a picture with you? You're like, my hero!" a young girl asked. She couldn't have been over 13, and was wearing a baggy shirt they had sold out the merch table, with stripey pink hair styled vaguely like Quinn's. Quinn couldn't help but smile, absolutely baffled that someone would look up to _her _of all people.

"Of course sweet heart." She wrapped a tattooed arm around the girl and smiled as her mini-me extended her arm and snapped a picture.

The girl squealed and bounced on the balls of her feet. "Ahhhh, thank you thank you thank you!" She exclaimed, her eyes wide with excitement.

Quinn chuckled and shook her head. "No, thank you for coming tonight!"

She would never get over the enthusiasm some of the kids had. They'd preorder tickets to get a chance to meet them, buy all of their merch, and stand outside without coats in the windy Chicago night for hours just for a chance to say hey. It was a far cry from the basements they had been playing a few year ago, or the small tours where they'd have to beg people to buy their cds so they could afford to pay for the gas to get them from one venue to the next.

The girl bounded away and Quinn smiled. There was only one kid left, standing talking to Puck and Finn about something. She stretched out and walked back into the lobby where she would be protected from the angry breeze.

"Quinn!" Brittany exclaimed from behind the merch booth. Quinn walked up to Brittany, who was packing away loose t shirts into boxes.

"Hey Britt, how was it tonight?" She asked smiling at her friend.

"Awesome, I'm pretty sure we've never sold this much merch. We can stop for like, real food tonight. Not just McDonald's, and have enough money to get to Indianapolis."

"Minneapolis." Quinn corrected with a smile.

"Whatever." Brittany responded. "You guys kicked ass tonight."

Quinn laughed and shook her head. "Well, you were great too, especially if you really did sell all the merch."

There was a loud scoff and Quinn turned around, to come face to face with an annoyed looking Santana.

"If you sold more merch it was because of my girl here." Santana said with an annoyed huff. "And myself of course."

Quinn raised an eye, not liking Santana's attitude. "Oh really?"

Santana opened her mouth to retort, but was silenced by the tiny brunette in questions hand on her arm. Rachel looked absolutely tired, her chocolate brown eyes framed by heavy bags. Quinn couldn't say she blamed her, she had traveled for hours only to be put straight to work.

"You were fantastic tonight, Quinn." Rachel said, her voice tired but her smile bright.

Quinn nodded. "Thank you. You guys were great too, selling all of this."

Rachel's eyes brightened momentarily before looking up to Brittany's. "So how much more?" She asked warily.

Brittany leaned down and slapped a box onto the table, and then another. "Just these two and the one I'm working on."

Santana walked over, flashing Brittany a sultry smile before heaving one of the boxes up. "Well come on, Berry." She chided, before exiting the building.

Rachel sighed and looked at the remaining box, her eyes filled with apprehension. Her shoulders slumped as she took a step forward but Quinn stopped her, feeling unreasonably sorry for the tiny diva.

"I've got this." Quinn said, lifting it up. Rachel nodded, not about to argue, and followed Quinn out.

"So what was that song...the cover?" Rachel asked finally as Quinn made her way up onto the trailer.

Quinn set the box down next to the other merch boxes and turned to look at Rachel. "Freakish, by Saves the Day."

"I've never heard of them." Rachel said, her voice sounded defeated.

"They're one of my favorite bands." Quinn said. She turned around and exited the trailer, as Brittany walked on carrying the lost box.

"Well," Rachel said, straightening her back suddenly very serious. "I have to say I was very impressed by your performance. Especially of that song. You are quite talented, and watching you tonight reassured me that this definitely was a smart decision. Not just smart but the right decision."

Quinn arched her eyebrow and looked over Rachel, not sure if that was a compliment. "Thank...you?"

Rachel beamed. "You're absolutely welcome." The diva said, and spun around to approach Santana.

Quinn shook her head, amused. This girl was something else. She was definitely nervous around her, Quinn could tell, but she was eloquent despite that. Plus she was drop dead gorgeous, and that _smile _was incredible. But she had the tendency to talk a lot, and rant, and whine.

Quinn wasn't too sure if she wanted to hug the diva or place her hand over her mouth. Or maybe her lips.

She shook her head and walked up to where the boys were talking. She couldn't have _those_ thoughts. She wouldn't allow herself to.

* * *

**A/N**: Okay author's note at the end because of potential spoilers for this chapter. First of all, the song is (as Quinn says) Freakish by Saves the Day. The original lyrics are Quinn's, and hopefully will give you some insight to her back story (which will be explored later on). There are a few references to some other bands in here. If you get them you're awesome. And oh yeah, please review. Your words only help me improve this story!r


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **First of all, thanks to everyone for all of your kind reviews. I'm glad you like this story so far, and I hope that I'm doing these characters justice. I'm having a lot of fun trying to figure out how Quinn and Rachel would react to each other in this situation. Hopefully I'm doing it justice!

* * *

"So how many Denny's have we been kicked out of?" Sam asked with a grin as he gunned the van out onto the street. The manager jogged after them, out of breath, with a fist in the air.

"Oh my God you mean this has happened before? Multiple TIMES?" Rachel yelled, absolutely mortified, from her spot in the back seat between the window and Brittany.

Puck turned around from the seat in front of her with a grin. "Absolutely." He stated with a nod. "There was the time I got into that wrestling match with Quinn-"

"Which I _won."_ Quinn interrupted, looking up from the book she had pressed to her face.

"Yeah, and then there was the time Sam threw that glass at the waitress." Artie said.

"Dude come on I was just doing my Thor imitation. She got in the way!" Sam whined from the front seat.

"And then there was that time where we didn't have enough money and unsuccessfully tried to sneak a group of 9 people out the front door." Finn said.

"Oh my God!" Rachel groaned.

She was embarrassed, to say the least, by what happened tonight. Puck, Finn, and Sam where playing the claw machine while the rest of them finished up their meals. Everything had been absolutely fine up until the claw dropped ("ON PURPOSE!" Puck insisted) the stuffed bear right before the drop slot. In his rage, he slammed the machine up against the wall, causing the glass to shatter. He was now sitting in the middle seat, clutching the toy (because it was "rightfully his" he told Finn before picking it out of the mess and bolting from the restaurant), with a satisfied grin.

Rachel gaped at Kurt, who was sitting next to Puck. Kurt shrugged.

"Hey, if when these guys get famous all I have to deal with are a few angry managers of a sub-par breakfast food chain then I'm happy. Granted, I DO NOT APPROVE!" He said the last four words harshly, causing every one in the band but Brittany (who was in a heated discussion with Santana over something Rachel did not want to know about) and Quinn (who was ignoring everyone, her nose pressed into a book) to flinch.

"Yeah we're not that bad." Finn said with a shrug and a half grin. "We just get rowdy sometimes. You should see some of the stuff some of the bands we've been on tour have gotten themselves into."

"Like what?" Rachel asked in disbelief, not understanding how anything could be a worse PR nightmare. She hoped that no one in that restaurant had recognized her, that would be awful. She could see the headline now. "Broadway Star and Hollywood Actress Breaks Claw Machine And Runs Away With A Motley Crew Of Hooligans." On second thought, it was possibly PR gold since the studio was trying to sell her as a bad ass now.

Puck shrugged. "Drugs, leaked nude pictures, unwanted pregnancies with groupies, underage girls and their parents, alcohol, like actual fights not just the playful shit we get into, strippers, I know a dude that got into a fight with a homeless guy over a $50 dollar bill that was on the street and got bit. Ended up contracting hepatitis or something."

Rachel's jaw dropped in horror. Puck just laughed. "Yeah I know. Pretty bad stuff. Considering some of the shit we've seen we're pretty well behaved on tour. We don't party too often and when we do its pretty lame since Quinn, Artie, and Finn are boring ass straight edge nerds-" Quinn lifted her middle finger up at Puck and Finn scowled. "But we do have fun."

Rachel nodded and sighed. She didn't know that people over the age of 21 were actually straight edge, seeing as all of her friends from college had dropped that title the minute they were old enough, but at least she wasn't going to be involved in some sort of heroin sex scandals. She didn't want to be _that_ bad ass.

"I suggest everyone try to get some sleep." Sam said. "And Puck, you're driving next. You've got four hours 'till I'm pulling this car over."

Puck groaned and rolled over, leaning his mohawked head onto Kurt's shoulder. "Then everyone shut up so I can get my beauty rest."

Rachel's face dropped in horror. "You mean we're not getting a hotel room?" She looked over to Santana, who wasn't paying any attention at all, if the dazed look and absent nods she was giving the blonde next to her were any indication.

"No, not tonight. We have to be in Minneapolis by 1. It's an 8 hour drive, and it's already 2 am. It'd be a waste to get a hotel room tonight, we'd only have 2 hours to spare." Kurt said. He smiled at Rachel as her face fell. "Don't worry, we have the day off after and rooms already booked at the Holiday Inn for tomorrow night."

Rachel huffed and folded her arms across her chest. There was no way she was going to get enough sleep in this rickety old van. She was already running on empty, and these people were absolutely insane if they expected her to get the proper amount of rest this way AND work tomorrow.

She had her head leaned up against the window when Santana finally spoke to everyone.

"So which one of you is going to give Rachel her guitar lessons?" She asked.

Rachel turned her head so fast she was glad she was able to stop it before she turned into an impromptu Linda Blair impression. "Guitar lesson?"

Santana nodded. "Yep, the studio called today. The director apparently wants you to actually know how to play. Authenticity reasons or something. So who's up for it?"

Rachel, Santana, and Kurt all looked over at Quinn, who was still lost in her book, hazel eyes shining by the faint glow of her book light. She looked up, eyes scanning over all three faces, and shook her head. "Nope." She dead panned, her jaw tight. "Not doing it."

"Quinn." Kurt eased, leaning over a snoring Finn who had somehow managed to fall asleep.

"Kurt." She challenged, a perfectly sculpted eyebrow arching up.

"You are the only one qualified to play guitar here. Sam sucks-"

"Hey!" The blond boy yelled from the front seat. Rachel could see his overly large frown reflected in the mirror.

"And Puck hasn't played guitar since he taught you. Which by the way, we all know what happened with that."

Puck scoffed. "It's not my fault shes some sort of freaky guitar wizard. Lesbian fingers man."

Rachel gulped at that last statement, not sure what to make of that jolt of electricity that shot up her body from between her legs or the blush on Quinn's face that matched her hair.

"No." Quinn stated again. "Not happening. I am NOT dealing with the diva freakouts that are going to happen.'

"Hey!" Rachel yelled, offended.

Quinn looked over to the diva, fiery hazel eyes meeting heated chocolate, and chuckled. "Yeah? So whats going to happen when I tell you to cut your nails short? Or when I-"

Rachel held up her hands with smug look on her face. "Ha, they're already short!" She stated, victoriously. She chose to ignore Santana's whispered comment of "Not the only one with lesbian fingers" to a giggling Brittany.

Quinn sighed and shook her head. "Or when your finger tips start bleeding and get hard and calloused? Or when your hands start to hurt from stretching over the fretboard?"

Rachel huffed and brought her arms back across her chest. "First of all, I play piano and sing, so I am already musically inclined. Second, I despise the fact that you assume that I'm some sort of helpless whiny brat!"

Rachel was fuming. Where was the quiet, sort of shy, artsy girl from earlier tonight? The one that chivalrously offered help. She did not like defiant Quinn.

Quinn shook her head. "Just going off what I've seen so far."

"Ladies, stop arguing, please." Kurt said, holding a hand up between the two as if that were going to stop them.

"Yeah, I'll do it." Puck said. "She'll be good enough for her part. I'll show her how good I am at fingering...chords." He smiled and waggled his eyebrows.

Rachel frowned and Kurt sighed.

"Fine Puck will teach you, is that okay?" Kurt asked, turning to face Rachel.

Rachel nodded. "Whatever."

"No." Quinn said finally, an air of amusement in her voice. "No, you know what? I want to see how this goes. I'll do it."

Kurt gave Quinn a hard look, trying to discern her motives from the steely look on her face. "You sure?"

Quinn nodded. Rachel gaped.

Kurt looked back, his icy blue eyes pleading and worried. "Are you okay with this? Puck already agreed."

Rachel looked back up to Quinn, who was staring out the window. She was unsure why the girl suddenly _hated _her so much. It wasn't like she was warm before, but she _was_ friendly. Now the girl wanted nothing to do with her. And no, that wasn't okay. She needed Quinn to like her. She could care less about what the boys or Brittany thought but Quinn...for some reason she _craved _her approval.

"It's fine. Quinn, I look forward to our lesson tomorrow." She said with a curt nod. Quinn shot a defying smirk over her shoulder while Rachel met her eyes with a fiery determination.

If winning Quinn over meant doing well in guitar lessons, well then Rachel was going to have to become the next Johnny B. Goode.

* * *

Quinn groaned when Kurt pulled her aside.

"Look, Finn and Puck can deal with all of the interviews today. You have to give Rachel her lesson." he said sternly.

Never in her life had she ever wanted to do an interview more.

She wasn't looking forward to teaching the small diva how to play guitar. She didn't even want to be in the same _room _with her again.

Rachel was small, and loud, with a tendency to ramble and complain, and ramble even _more _while she complained. She hadn't had a full on diva tantrum yet, but if the arguing she had heard between her and Santana in the bathroom earlier that day was any indication, she was expecting one soon enough. The worst part about all of this is that even through all of these _horrible_ qualities that seemed to mold the girl, she couldn't get over how absolutely gorgeous she was or how heavenly her voice was.

It was dangerous territory, Quinn knew this. Dealing with Rachel was like navigating a mine field. Letting herself just go for it would end up in disaster, with her heart broken and scattered across the battlefield, something she was not willing to let herself go through again. She had to tactfully navigate through this situation if she wanted to come out alive.

If tactfully meant being a raging bitch.

So maybe Quinn wasn't too tactful. It didn't matter as long as she came out of this unscathed, heart intact. If throwing up all her walls got Rachel to stop looking at her in awe with those big eyes like swirling cups of hot chocolate and...fuck.

The raging bitch thing wasn't really working.

"I don't understand Quinn." Kurt asked. "Why didn't you just let Puck do it if you don't like her?"

Quinn didn't answer, mainly because there was no safe way to handle that question. The truth was that yeah, while she was trying to keep Rachel away she couldn't stand thinking about Puck being completely alone with her every day. He was guaranteed to make some sort of lewd comment or pass at her. And what if Rachel did the unthinkable and _fell _for it?

Quinn shuddered thinking about it.

To be honest, she didn't want Sam to do it either. Sure, Sam didn't suck as bad as Kurt seemed to think, and he was harmless compared to Puck. But Sam had a huge crush on the star too, and a lot of girls fell for his geekyness and stupidly large smile.

Quinn didn't want to even _think _about what would happen if Rachel ended up with one of the guys, even if the idea was sort of ridiculous. She couldn't have that. She'd put herself in the way if that meant preventing some sort of post Rachel-hooking-up-with-anyone-but-her fallout.

"I like a challenge." Quinn stated nonchalantly, with a shrug.

Kurt looked her dead in the eye and Quinn raised her eyebrow in defiance. It was a dance the two had perfected. Kurt would ask a question that Quinn didn't want to answer, Quinn would answer cryptically, Kurt would try to decode it by looking into her eyes, and Quinn would silently threaten him with her eyebrow. Finn had nicknamed them Ekans and Arbok, because once they came out they could be venomous. Like snakes, or in this case fictional cartoon snakes.

Kurt shook his head, a sort of white flag that said "I can't figure out what you really mean by that".

"Look, Kurt whatever. I'm going up to the roof with my acoustic. Give her Sam's and tell her to be up there in 15 or it's off." Quinn said and turned on her heel.

He mumbled something unintelligible as she walked back outside to the trailer to grab her case. She thought she heard something like "crushes" and "unhealthy" but couldn't tell. She decided she would ignore it, since she didn't want to have to put Kurt in one of her strangle holds normally reserved for Puck.

She was not looking forward to this lesson, not at all.

* * *

Quinn looked up from her guitar when she heard footsteps cutting across the gravel top roof.

"You showed up." She said, taking a puff from the cigarette hanging between her lips.

Rachel closed her eyes and let out a huff. "I could say the same for you as well."

Quinn looked over the girl. Her eyes looked nervous, but she was bouncing on the balls of her feet, clutching Sam's thick guitar case in her hand. Her bottom lip was tucked between her teeth and she was humming something. Quinn had to fight herself to tear her eyes away, she looked adorable.

"Well come on then." Quinn said after a moment, nodding for Rachel to sit in front of her.

Rachel moved and slowly sat down to where Quinn had gestured, crossing her legs Indian style. Quinn purposefully averted her eyes away from the way her tank top slightly rose above her belly button when she heaved the beat up old fender custom out of it's case. It was to no avail as Quinn was picturing it perfectly, even with the guitar balancing on the smaller girl's leg in an obvious attempt to mirror Quinn.

"Alright, lets get started. The first-"

"Wait."

Quinn stopped and looked at Rachel, unamused. "_Yes_?"

"How am I supposed to properly learn anything while you're puffing away on that _death stick?_" Rachel scolded, frowning at Quinn.

Quinn scoffed. "Deal with it shortie." She said, taking a long puff.

"Absolutely not. I absolutely cannot focus with that horrid stench infiltrating my nostrils. What about the effects of second hand smoke, Quinn? If you want to catch lung cancer or emphysema or have a heart attack at your young age that's on you, but do not expect me to sit here. I will not let my lungs shrivel and blacken with that cancerous filth and ruin my voice."

Rachel watched as Quinn rolled her eyes but obliged the girl. She rubbed the butt of the cigarette out on the roof and flicked it over the roof top.

"I thought Puck said you were straight edge, anyway." Rachel said once she was sure the cigarette was out of harms way.

"I don't drink, and I don't do drugs, and I'm not one to hook up with random people at parties. Puck mistakes my outstanding morale fiber for some bogus label." Quinn said with a shrug. "Can we get started now?"

Rachel nodded. "Yes of course, now that we don't have any distractions." She smiled brightly at Quinn.

"First of all are the rules." Quinn said. She smirked as Rachel slowly frowned.

"Go on." Rachel huffed.

"The first rule of guitar lessons is-"

"Oh my God!" Rachel yelled.

"What?" Quinn asked.

"Cheesy. Cheesy cheesy cheesy. That movie is soooooooooo dumb." Rachel huffed.

"Have you ever seen Fight Club?" Quinn asked.

Rachel frowned. "No, and I don't want to ever. I have no interest in watching a bunch of testosterone fueled boys hit each other for fun."

Quinn shook her head.

"First rule is that you will not insult Norton, Pitt, Carter, Fincher, or Palahniuk with your ignorance to their work while around me." Quinn stated, annoyed.

Rachel snorted. "Continue."

"Second rule is that you will listen to me. You will not question what I ask you to do. You will not complain when your hands start to cramp or your fingers start to bleed."

Rachel nodded. "Fine." She wasn't planning to any way. Besides there was no way it could be that bad.

"I guess that's it, any questions?" Quinn asked, regretting asking immediately.

Rachel bit her lip and smiled. "Is it Pitt's abs? Or Norton's quiet intelligence?" Rachel asked.

Quinn scoffed. "Neither. It's Fincher and Palahniuk's genius. Now shut up."

"No I actually have a real question. Have you ever taught anyone this before?"

"About Fight Club?" Quinn asked, pushing Rachel's buttons.

"No. Guitar." Rachel asked annoyed. Quinn giggled.

"Yes, if you must know. Before the band really took off it was my job. Yes I had a lot of students, and yes, they're all incredibly talented now." Quinn said before Rachel could continue.

"I highly doubt they're all guitar heroes now." Rachel huffed. "Some kids just don't have it."

Quinn sighed. "Alright whatever. I'm qualified. We're starting."

Rachel nodded as Quinn held out her guitar.

"This is a guitar." She said seriously.

"I know that." Rachel gasped. Quinn had to swallow her laughter at the offended look on the girl's face. It was adorable.

"These," Quinn said, strumming open strings. "Are strings."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Get on with it."

Quinn continued pointing to the other parts of the guitar, trying to demonstrate what each thing did if possible. Rachel nodded along, listening intently now that she was actually learning something. Quinn was surprised that the girl wasn't taking notes.

"Following so far?" Quinn asked.

Rachel nodded.

"Alright, so back to the strings. The strings obviously go from lowest to highest." Quinn said, slowly bringing her pick down the strings. "This is low E," Quinn said hitting the string and letting the note slowly reverberate around them. She hit the next string, "This is-"

"A!" Rachel said smiling and nodding. "I have perfect pitch. Keep going." She announced, bouncing excitedly.

Quinn shook her head. "Um, okay. This is-"

"D!"

Quinn hit the next note.

"G, B, and high e!" Rachel announced excitedly. "Though, they're all a little flat."

Quinn nodded. "It happens after a little while. That brings us to the next lesson, tuning." Quinn said, pulling out a small black chromatic tuner from her pocket.

"Oh no. No, no, no, no, **no!**"Rachel said. "Do not try to insult me with that thing. I used to have the entire cast warm up and tune to my voice before shows." Rachel explained.

Quinn placed the device on the roof and held up her hands to appease the excited girl in front of her. Of course she made her cast mates tune to her. She wasn't really surprised.

"Alright, alright. Well, miss perfect pitch, we're going to start with high e." Quinn said. "Now I know this might be a tad confusing since it's on the bottom, but this is the first string. B is second, G is third. Etc."

Rachel nodded. "Okay, what do I do how do I do it? Rachel asked. "Do I just turn the peg?"

Rachel reached up and started turning the tuning peg for the string up.

"No, Rachel stop! If you tune it too high it'll break." Quinn tried to explain.

Too late.

The string snapped with a tight "PING!" and Rachel looked stunned. She looked down to her opposite hand, and gasped.

"Oh no." Quinn muttered, already knowing what happened.

"Quinn I've been slashed! This tuning business is dangerous! I request medical attention." Rachel said, cradling her injured hand.

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Let me see it."

Rachel held her hand out and Quinn grasped it gently. There was a small inch length cut that was oozing blood slightly.

"You're fine. It happens all the time." Quinn said, letting Rachel's hand fall gently from hers.

Rachel scoffed. "What if that thing got me in the eye?"

Quinn shrugged. "It didn't, and your fine. Here, now take my guitar so I can restring Sam's." Quinn said. She was reluctant to let the other girl play her guitar, but wanted to get this first lesson over with.

Rachel gingerly exchanged her guitar with Quinn's. She placed the new guitar in her lap and held it cautiously.

"Now what?" She asked.

Quinn grunted as she dug through Sam's case for tools and a new string. "You tune the guitar. Just go _slow_. And don't worry about it being in tune with you exactly, just make sure the strings are in tune with each other."

Rachel nodded and slowly set about tuning the guitar, humming each note steadily as she went along. Quinn hurriedly worked to replace the string. She popped the pin out and pulled out the broken string, then placed the new one in.

"Shouldn't you be teaching me how to do that too?" Rachel asked, stopping once she hit the d string.

"Later, doing this is absolutely frustrating. I wanted to quit playing guitar the first time I had to." Quinn said with a grunt as she threaded the new string through it's tuning peg.

Rachel nodded, and continued to tune the guitar as Quinn set Sam's between her knees. She pressed the string to the head right underneath the machine and held the string out with her thumb.

"Why are you doing that?" Rachel asked.

"Creates slack." Quinn said as she placed a black peg winder over the tuner and wound the string up. As soon as she thought it was tight enough she strummed the string and tuned it with the next one up, then snipped the excess wire hanging off the end.

"All good. How about you?" Quinn asked Rachel.

Rachel proudly strummed across the strings, grinning from ear to ear.

"Awesome, now try again with this one." Quinn said, holding out Sam's guitar. Rachel groaned and swapped the instruments, repeating the process.

Once both guitars were tuned, Rachel looked up. "Now what?"

"Alright, musical prodigy. Each fret, " Quinn said, fingering the first fret on the high e and starting to play up the board, "is a half step. So I'm going to test you by asking you note names." Quinn said.

"Okay, easy enough." Rachel said with a nod, banking on her perfect pitch to get her though this.

"While you play along with me." Quinn said with a smile.

Rachel scoffed at the way Quinn was smiling. Piece of cake.

"Okay, place your pointer finger on the first fret of the first string." Quinn instructed.

Rachel placed the flat part of her finger where Quinn told her to and smiled as she hit the note. "F!" She declared .

"Not so fast." Quinn said. "You want to touch the string with your fingertip."

"What am I touching it with if I'm not touching it with my fingertip?" Rachel asked, genuinely confused.

Quinn fingered the same note on her guitar and held it out at an angle so Rachel could peer up the fretboard. "See how I'm right at the tip of my finger, almost where the nail meets the skin? That's what I meant by fingertip. You have your finger placed flat across the string. That's a habit you absolutely don't want to get into." Quinn explained.

Rachel nodded. "That's why you wanted me to have short nails." She asked as she corrected her fingering. She winced a little bit as the sharp string cut in and her hand position, but other than that she was fine. "Better?" She asked as she strummed the note again.

Quinn nodded. "Yeah. One more thing though. Place your finger up higher on the fret." Quinn instructed. "The notes sound clearer."

Rachel did as told and Quinn nodded. "Awesome." She stated as a clear F rang out around them. "Now I want you to do the same thing on the third fret. Same string."

Rachel nodded and somewhat clumsily worked to get her finger in the same position. "G." She said as she strummed out the next note.

"Alright great. Now you're going to go from F to G, and then G to F." Quinn stated. "I want you to put your first finger back on F."

Rachel did so, slightly easier this time, and strummed the note.

"Good." Quinn said. "Now, I want you to play a G, except I want you to do it with your third finger. Remember, on your fingertips and further down the fret."

Rachel frowned as she removed her first finger and tried to get her third finger to comply. It finally did and she smiled as she struck the note. "Like this?"

Quinn tilted her head. "Yeah. Okay. Now I want you to play the F, and then play the G. This time though, Keep your first finger on F while you play the G."

Rachel looked up at her confused. "Why?"

"Habit forming." Quinn said simply.

Rachel nodded. It took a while to get her fingers to comply, but she slowly worked them to try to do what Quinn said. Whenever she felt one of her fingers flatten, she'd quickly correct it. She slowly strummed each note once she finally felt she had the transition down, and looked up to Quinn.

"Good, very good." Quinn said. "Alright, our hour's up."

"That's it?" Rachel asked, disappointed.

"Yep." Quinn said, placing her guitar back in her case. "You did good today."

Rachel placed her guitar down gently and stood up. "No way are you leaving me with that. What am I supposed to practice?"

"What I just taught you." Quinn said blankly.

"Really?" Rachel asked.

"Yep. But I guess if you really want a challenge-"

"OF COURSE!" Rachel yelled, throwing her arms in the air.

Quinn shook her head. "Figure out an e major scale for me, using all the strings. 2 octaves. And you're only allowed to use open strings and the first 3 frets."

Rachel nodded and sat back down on the roof. "Okay. You're on Quinn." she said.

Quinn chuckled and stood up. "I'll leave you to it then." She said, before walking to the stairwell and disappearing.

Rachel smiled to herself. Quinn had definitely been bitchy at the beginning of their hour but as time went on she definitely started to warm up to her, if the way her eyes sparkled before she turned away was anything to go by. Yeah Quinn Fabray was definitely about to be won over by Rachel Berry, Rachel could feel it!


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **So this is kind of short. BUT I promise I'll be updating again within the week.

* * *

"Berry! Put down that guitar, we have work to do." Santana called, startling Rachel.

She turned around quickly. "Santana! How long have you been there?" Rachel asked, slightly embarrassed. She had finally figured out the scale Quinn had told her to, and had been slowly working through it for a while now.

"Enough. Now come on Taylor Swift, we have to go help Brittany set up the merch booth. You've been up here for hours."

Rachel gasped and pulled out her cellphone to check the time. "Gosh, I hadn't realized I've been up here so long!"

Santana rolled her eyes. "Alright. How did it go with Tank Girl today?"

"Who?" Rachel asked with a frown, not understanding the reference.

"Quinn!" Santana huffed.

"Oh. It went fine today. Look what I can do!" Rachel exclaimed. She slowly plucked out the scale, wincing a little at the way the metal of the strings bit her fingers. Santana looked absolutely bored as Rachel went back down the scale and slowly played out an arpeggiated e major. She beamed up at Santana, proud of her work and the extra steps she took to get the arpeggio that Quinn didn't even tell her to do. She couldn't wait to show her tomorrow.

"Lovely come on." Santana groaned.

Rachel huffed. "She didn't even ask me to do that chord." She muttered as she placed the guitar back in the case and followed Santana back down the stairs. They briskly walked back to the stage area to drop off Sam's guitar before heading over to the merch table.

"Hey Rachel! How did your lesson with Quinn go? Are you a guitar master yet?" Brittany asked, a wide smile painted to her face as the girls approached.

"Not yet, but I think I should be good enough for the role by the time this is over." Rachel responded brightly.

"Awesome!" Brittany exclaimed, bouncing on her heels slightly. Rachel couldn't help but giggle at the way Santana was so obviously ogling her, but shut up at the death glare Santana shot her.

They all set to work pinning the various t shirts and their prices on the metal stand set up behind them and sorting through the boxes of clothing. Once they had finished (in considerably less amount of time than it had took the day before) Brittany sighed happily.

"Awesome guys. We have some time before they open the doors and everything, we should go see if they need help on stage." Brittany said.

Rachel groaned and opened her mouth to protest.

"No, don't want to hear it. We do what Brittany says." Santana barked. Brittany smiled appreciatively and set off, Santana dragging Rachel behind her.

"Why don't you ask her out?" Rachel whispered, making sure Brittany was out of ear shot.

Santana laughed. "I'm working on it Berry. What about you? When are you going to?"

Rachel knitted her eyebrows together. "Why would I ask out Brittany?"

Santana shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose, stopping. "No. Quinn. When are you asking _Quinn _out." She explained with a sigh.

A blush inexplicably crawled across Rachel's cheeks and her heart fluttered. "Why would I do that?" She asked, seriously.

Santana's jaw dropped. "Seriously? You're playing this game right now?"

Rachel frowned, not exactly sure what Santana was implying or why she was suddenly so flustered over the thought of dating Quinn. "I honestly have no idea what you're talking about Santana."

Santana laughed, humorlessly. "Don't lie to me Berry. I noticed the way you were drooling over her all day yesterday. And this morning. And today."

"Honestly Santana you're being ridiculous. Yes, Quinn's gorgeous. So what?" Rachel stammered. She didn't understand why this conversation was happening at all.

"Okay, Berry, whatever." Santana huffed. "Just remember that I can smell these kind of things from a mile away. But come on. We have work to do." She spun and walked away, leaving a very perplexed Rachel in her tracks.

* * *

"I'm so !" Puck roared, flopping down onto the overstuffed black leather couch in the little backstage area.

"Be quiet Puck!" Kurt hissed, covering the mouth piece to his cellphone with his hand. "I'm on the phone with Rachel's studio!"

Finn rolled his eyes as he continued to hit out a rhythm on his rubber drum pad. "What could we do between now and the meet and greet?" He asked over the soft thumping of his sticks on rubber.

Quinn shrugged from her position on the concrete floor, turning a page of the book she was reading. "I'm fine here."

"Can we go get something to eat?" Puck whined.

"Where?" Finn asked.

"CAN YOU TOO PLEASE BE QUIET WHEN I'M ON THE PHONE!" Kurt roared as he slipped his phone back into his pocket.

Finn dropped his drumsticks as the three of them looked up at Kurt in shock.

"Jesus Kurt what's got your panties in a twist?" Puck asked.

Kurt bent forward and rubbed his temples. "Those people are ridiculous. They want to send paparazzi out to photograph her at the next show."

"Why?" Quinn asked, placing her book on the ground.

"Publicity, why else?" Kurt asked. "I just...ugh...I don't know if it's a good idea just yet. Once they start they're going to be following us around and we'll have a media circus on our hands. Besides, our next show is in Denver. Wouldn't it be a tad bit unbelievable if the paparazzi showed up there? We're going to be in LA in a week, why can't they wait until then?"

The three band members sat quietly, still recovering from Kurt's outburst.

"So um...Taco Bell?" Puck offered Finn. "I saw one down the street."

Finn nodded and the two boys rushed out the door.

"Why did we agree to this, Quinn?" Kurt whined.

"I don't know." Quinn answered honestly.

It was quiet for a moment before Kurt spoke. "How was the lesson?"

Quinn shrugged. "Fine. She seems to be taking it on quickly."

"That's good." Kurt said curtly. Quinn nodded her agreement.

"They want to set her up with one of the guys." Kurt said, completely out of the blue.

Quinn's face paled immediately. "No." She stated.

Kurt looked up at her. Quinn couldn't tell what was going on behind his icy blue eyes, but she knew she didn't like it. "It wouldn't be real. Just PR. It'll be good for the band's publicity too." He explained.

"Absolutely not." Quinn dead panned. Her stomach churned at the thought of it. "Since when did we have to play a part of her Hollywood bullshit?"

"Quinn..."

"No, Kurt. Just...argh!" Quinn stood up abruptly. "We're not doing that. That's...that's selling out!"

Kurt frowned at her. "Quinn, I don't want to have to deal with the bullshit that would go with that either. I'm going to do my best to convince the studio that it would be a horrible idea, and I'm going to do what it takes to get Santana on board. That being said its not really up to you. I'm going to ask Finn to do it, since he would be the safer option. If not we all know Puck will do it. What's this really about?" Kurt asked.

"Not selling out." Quinn stated again, definitely.

"Your crush on her." Kurt corrected,mocking Quinn's tone.

"No."

"Yes."

"_No."_

"_Yes."_

Quinn started pacing the floor. "So what?" She asked.

Kurt chuckled and shook his head, watching his distraught friend. "This is why I'm telling you first. Just so you know, liking her isn't a bad thing, Quinn."

"Yes it is, Kurt!" Quinn explained.

"Why?" Kurt asked, seriously.

"Because let's see. She's straight, she's a diva. She's a straight diva!" Quinn explained, throwing her hands into the air.

"She's not." Kurt said.

"Did you forget about the fit she threw this morning over eating breakfast at McDonald's?" Quinn yelled. She certainly hadn't. They spent an hour and a half in the dining area of McDonald's, Santana arguing with a tight mouthed Rachel over eating a chicken salad with the meat picked off, the only relatively vegan friendly thing on the menu. It was like watching an exasperated mother force her child to eat her vegetables.

"She's not straight." Kurt said.

Quinn laughed. "Okay. And I am."

Kurt rolled his eyes and stood up, walking up to his friend and placing a hand on her shoulder to still her. "Quinn, your gaydar is clearly broken. Have you seen the way she looks at you."

"Like a lost puppy?"

He nodded. "A lost, _lovesick_ puppy. Who desperately craves your attention and approval." Quinn scoffed.

"I think she just has a desperate need to be liked by everyone." Quinn said.

"Quinn." Kurt sighed. "I know how you operate in these situations. You were fine around her up until last night when Super Bitch showed up. Don't do that thing you do."

Quinn ignored his comment, not wanting to admit how completely see through her tactics were. "And so what if she is gay? Why does the studio want her to date a guy?"

Kurt looked hesitant. "Well uh...Quinn...I think you know why."

"Enlighten me." She said, her brow raising in challenge.

"Because she's not out. At least not to the world." Kurt explained. "And for whatever reason that is, it's is her business that I'm not getting into."

"No you mean because her, or the studio, or Santana thinks its bad press right?" Quinn asked, anger rising.

Kurt nodded. "Yeah. But I'm pretty sure Santana's gay too so don't blame her."

"But I'm out. Everyone knows I'm gay. And I'm a public figure." Quinn pleaded, knowing that it was a bad argument already.

"Quinn, that's different. The people that listen to Bowser Jr. are generally more open minded and accepting then the swarms of people that read People and scour E! For potential celebrity couples. Besides, it's not like you've had it easy." Kurt said.

It was true. Quinn had faced her deal of sexism and homophobia out there on tour. There had been countless fights, some of them shouting matches but others leading up to her having to kick someone's ass, with guy's who just didn't get it.

"Okay, so you expect me to go after a girl that _could _be gay, and if she is she's in the closet because it's bad PR." Quinn stated, annoyed. "And no matter _what _happens with that, she's still going to end up in a phony relationship with one of my band mates."

"I never said I wanted you to go after her." Kurt said, causing Quinn to double take. "I just wanted to make sure we're on the same page and that you were handling this appropriately." Kurt explained.

"So you're telling me not to?" Quinn asked, completely befuddled by the way Kurt was running in circles.

"Quinn look. We have to spend a month with her and we only have one day under our belts. I'm not going to try to convince you to go after her or not, but please, just make sure that whatever you do end up doing doesn't cause some sort of war." Kurt pleaded. He turned and walked away, leaving Quinn alone in the dressing room.

She groaned and fell heavily onto the couch, leaning forward and placing her head in her hands. Kurt was right. One day into the tour and this was already shaping up to be a complete disaster. She didn't want to admit how much she enjoyed being around Rachel during their guitar lesson today, she definitely didn't want to admit that Kurt's suspicions about the starlet's sexuality got her hopes up. The time they had spent together earlier today had just made Quinn's crush stronger, her attempts to convince herself otherwise completely futile. She loved the way Rachel bit her lip in concentration, or scrunched up her nose when she was displeased by something. She loved the way she hummed along, completely in tune, as she played the few notes Quinn had given her to practice. It had taken every ounce of strength Quinn had to walk away from the girl.

The truth was she _had _noticed the way Rachel was around her, but before now had no explanation for it. Quinn hated how everything she did in attempts to deter Rachel were causing the exact opposite reaction. Or maybe that was another thing she loved. She still wasn't exactly sure.

"I'm a mess." Quinn muttered to herself before slumping down on the couch and closing her eyes.


	8. Chapter 8

"Rachel? Rachel Berry?" A skinny boy with a mop of swoopy black hair called out.

"Dude, you're nuts." Another boy, a slightly pudgy kid with a buzz cut in a hockey jersey, scoffed.

"No, that's her man!" The first boy said, pointing in the direction of Bowser Jr.'s trailer, were Rachel _was _carrying (more like fumbling) a box of t shirts that was way too big for her.

"What makes you think she'd be in Minneapolis? Hauling gear for Bowser Jr.?"" His friend asked, obviously annoyed by his swoopy haired friend's absurd statement.

The first boy looked appropriately chastised as his shoulders slumped. They both walked to their car at the other end of the practically empty parking lot.

"That was close." Rachel huffed before setting the box in the trailer. She lifted her hand to wipe the film of sweat that had started to drip from her forehead.

The show was over and they had just finished tearing everything down. The venue was practically empty except for the bands, the staff, and a few kids that had stuck around to try to get autographs. Watching the show a second time proved to be a lot more enjoyable, since she had become slightly more familiar with the set list, and she handled her spot behind the merch table well, but she was now exhausted.

"What, you don't like talking with fans?" Sam asked, wheeling Puck's bass amp up onto the trailer.

"Well I usually don't mind. I just don't want anyone to recognize me while I'm doing hard labor. It's kind of embarrassing." Rachel explained. "No offense." She quickly added.

"Nah, I understand." He said, flashing his ridiculously wide grin. Rachel thought it made him look kind of like the Joker, except he was definitely harmless. A puppy dressed as the Joker. "Big movie star doing the behind the scene guys job."

Rachel laughed. "This definitely wasn't how I was expecting this tour to go." She admitted.

"What were you expecting? Groupies, massive amounts of alcohol and drug consumption?" Sam asked, laughing.

Rachel shrugged. "Kind of."

He jogged down the ramp and stood next to her. "Don't worry. We'll get to that." He promised with a wink.

They were alone in the back parking lot. Kurt, Santana, and Brittany were inside counting the money they had made from ticket and merch sales, Artie was helping the house staff pack away the microphones, and the band was out talking to fans in the front.

"Is that everything?" Rachel asked.

"Besides Artie's chair, yep." Sam nodded and pulled the ramp up before dropping the door down and locking it.

"Awesome." Rachel said, slumping to the ground and rubbing at her lower back gingerly.

"Tired?" Sam asked, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. Rachel grimaced, but decided that he had earned it after working all night.

"Completely." She nodded "And sore from my feet to my fingertips."

Sam winced. "Ah yeah, shredded fingertips. Don't worry, your callouses will start forming soon enough."

It was Rachel's turn to wince at the thought of callouses.

"Good thing we get to sleep in bed's tonight!" Sam exclaimed. "And showers."

Rachel moaned at the thought. It had been two days since she had gotten to shower or had a good night's sleep. She felt gross and exhausted.

"How do you guys do this for months at a time?" Rachel asked.

Sam shrugged. "It's fun. I get to travel the country, hang out with my friends, and fuck around. All the bad stuff, like sleeping in smelly cramped vans and being essentially broke, that's just fine print." He took a long drag on his cigarette and puffed out stream of smoke.

Rachel nodded, her mind drifting to other places.

"Can I ask you a weird question?" Rachel asked.

"Does it have to do with the size of my mouth?" Sam asked, frowning.

Rachel choked out a laugh at his assumption. "No, not at all."

"Okay, shoot."

She cleared her throat. "What's...um. What's the deal with Quinn?" She asked nervously. Rachel had been playing through their past interactions ever since her conversation with Santana earlier, and while Santana was _incredibly wrong_ about Rachel's motives for winning over Quinn, she had to admit that there was just something about her. She was stunning, and talented, and even though she had that whole bitchy facade, Rachel could tell she was sensitive and nice underneath. Rachel couldn't explain why her pink head was constantly running through her mind or why she felt such a strong pull to her, but she needed to find out more about her.

Sam sighed. "That's a bit complicated." He said. "_Quinn's_ a bit complicated. She's got a lot of history."

"I've got time." Rachel said, fixing Sam with a serious stare.

He shook his head, his shaggy blond hair sweeping around, and stomped out his cigarette. "Alright, well first of all, Quinn can be a total bitch at first, but once you get to know her she's the best friend you could ask for. When we met for the first time back in high school, I asked her out, and she punched me in the face. I had a black eye for a week."

Rachel's eyes widened in horror as he laughed. "No, don't worry I deserved it. It was after she had told me she was gay, and I was a relentless little shit about it."

"She's gay?" Rachel asked, amazed.

"Uh. Yeah. Shit...you didn't know?" Sam asked, looking worried. Rachel shook her head no. "Ugh she's going to kill me, she hates when people do that."

"That explains all those comments Puck was making! I thought he was just being homophobic!" Rachel exclaimed, ignoring Sam's comment. "I'm sorry, continue."

Sam sighed. "Alright, well anyway. Quinn's past is a bit spotty. She's had it tough, so yeah, she's a bit guarded at first. But she's a great person. If I needed someone to stand by me in a fight, or help me do my taxes, or watch my kids not that I have any yet, I'd call Quinn up first."

Rachel sighed. So far Sam hadn't told her anything about her personality that she hadn't seen or figured out from the way Quinn acted. The fact that Quinn was a lesbian was a tad bit unexpected though. She didn't know where to file that just yet.

"Do you think she'll warm up to me?" Rachel asked, nervously biting her lip.

Sam gave her a warm smile. "Yeah, of course. Just be patient with her. She's kind of like a bull. Push too much and you'll have to deal with the horns."

"Is she a Taurus?" Rachel asked, recognizing the traits of the star sign.

"Tauros? Do you mean the Pokemon?"

She opened her mouth to explain but was interrupted by the loud screeching of Santana's voice. She immediately felt dread rise in her stomach.

"No! Absolutely not! What the hell were they thinking!" Santana yelled, marching through the parking lot to the van, with Kurt in tow.

"I don't know! I don't agree with it at all!" Kurt yelled back, throwing his arms up.

"I'm going to call these idiots right now!" Santana exclaimed, stopping in front of the van.

"So we agree?" Kurt asked, placing his hands on his hips.

"Yes!" Santana shouted back.

"THEN WHY ARE WE ARGUING?" Kurt yelled, looking very frustrated.

"Calm down, Porcelain." Santana said, her voice suddenly soft but still dripping with annoyance. "I'm going to call them now."

"How did you know about that nickname?" Kurt asked, eyes wide with shock.

"What's going on?" Rachel asked, eyes darting back and forth between the two managers.

"Santana just Kurt the name the cheer leading coach at our old school used to harass him with." Sam explained, looking a little surprised himself.

Santana rolled her eyes. "The studio wants to set you up with either Puck or Finn." Santana explained as she pulled out her phone and dialed it.

"Why?" Rachel asked, completely confused.

"Why do you _think? _Christ you're slow."Santana replied sarcastically, phone pressed to her ear." Hi yes, this is Santana Lopez. Rachel Berry's manager. What the HELL are you thinking?"

Santana's voice softened as she walked away.

"Why don't you want that?" Sam asked Kurt. Kurt sighed and fell against the side of the van.

"Because, I don't want to deal the fall out of that. It's a little early in their career to be trying to set them up in phony Hollywood relationships."

Rachel frowned, feeling slightly guilty about how stressed out her presence was making Kurt. She wasn't sure how long he had been managing Bowser Jr., but he obviously didn't know how to handle the media circus that Santana had spent 4 years at college for, 3 of which she had managed Rachel as well.

"But whatever. Santana's dealing with it." Kurt explained, composing himself. "Lets rally the troops and get going."

On cue, Brittany, Puck and Finn appeared.

"We're ready to go." Finn said with a yawn, rubbing at his eye like a kitten.

"Where's Quinn?" Rachel asked immediately. Everyone present turned and fixed her with a confused stare. "And, um...Artie?" Rachel quickly added, a slight flush to her face.

"Don't know." Puck said. "I saw them talking to some girl. Maybe they're having a three way." He waggled his eyebrows and nudged Finn.

"Dude, what. No." Finn said, shaking his head. "Why does everything go back to sex with you?"

Rachel stood up, ignoring the commotion the two bickering boys were causing and the unexplainable jealous nausea, in order to go find Quinn.

And Artie.

They were both missing, of course. And talking to _a girl. _A potential _groupie. _That was just...gross. And potentially dangerous.

She walked through the back door into the now empty backstage. It was dark, the only light sources were a few dim emergency lights. She gripped for her phone and used the background as a flashlight.

"Quinn? Artie?" She called out, her voice echoing off the walls.

This was a bad idea. She should have brought one of the guys. Or Santana. Santana could have protected her from potential rapists or burglars hiding in the shadows. Or monsters. Santana would give any ghost or gremlin a run for their money, that girl could get down right _scary._

She immediately shook the image of Santana pummeling the Creature From The Black Lagoon out of her head and continued walking. "Quinn!" Rachel yelled, voice shaking. Her head was now plagued with images of vampires and aliens and pedophiles chasing her through the venue. She didn't care that she was 24 and that she wouldn't be the target of a pedophile. Her adrenaline was too busy coursing through her veins.

There was a sudden screeching noise that made Rachel's heart skip a beat.

"Who's there? Quinn? Artie?" Rachel called out.

There was a soft murmur as Rachel quickly put her phone away. Clearly it was neither Quinn or Artie if they weren't answering. She needed to hide. Hopefully whoever it was didn't have a pair of night vision goggles like the antagonist in the Silence of the shook her head to rid herself of that particularly horrifying thought as she side stepped and pressed herself against the wall.

Suddenly, small red flashing lights appeared at the end of the hallway accompanied by footsteps.

_Oh god this is it._ Rachel thought, closing her eyes tightly. The footsteps grew gradually louder, and when she opened her eyes the lights were considerably closer. This was it, she needed to make a break for it.

She stepped forward and turned around when she felt something knock against her, throwing her face down to the ground. Her head connected roughly with the concrete as she let out a wail.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Rachel screamed as she clattered to the ground.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" Another voice yelled.

"SWEET JESUS!" Cried another.

Rachel scrambled to get up, tears clouding her already poor vision. "Please!" She pleaded. "Please don't hurt me!"

Suddenly, a bright light flashed into her eyes.

"Jesus, Rachel!" the first voice called. It was familiar.

Rachel squinted as her eyes slowly adjusted to the sudden light source and slowly, Artie and Quinn came into view. Artie looked shaken, clutching the flashlight with one arm, a box of tools held tightly to his chest in the other. Quinn looked somewhere in between terrified and amused.

"Oh my God!" Rachel exclaimed, leaping forward and wrapping Artie into her arms. "I thought you were going to kill me and wear my skin! I thought you were vampires!"

"Um." Artie said awkwardly patting Rachel on the back. She released him from her death grip and threw herself at Quinn. Quinn immediately tensed in her arms, and kept her arms firmly attached at her sides.

"I'm so glad it's you guys!" Rachel sobbed, muffled by Quinn's shoulder. She could feel the girl heaving, taking deep calming breaths. When she let go Quinn looked a tad bit woozy.

"What are you doing here alone?" Quinn whispered, looking down to examine her shoe.

"Looking for you guys." Rachel stated. "You were M.I.A. I should be asking what you were doing? In here. In the dark. With a strange girl." Rachel narrowed her watery eyes at Quinn in accusation and sniffed.

"We were helping the crew pack up the house equipment. One of them happened to be a woman." Artie explained, looking curiously between Rachel and Quinn.

Quinn shook out her pink lemonade hair. "Alright. Well you found us Clarice. Come on, lets get going."

She pushed Artie forward, leaving a still crying Rachel standing in her wake.

"Wait!" Rachel called after, stumbling forward and wiping the remaining tears from her eyes.

It was quiet as the trio made their way back to the doors, this time the path illuminated by Artie's flashlight. Rachel could now see that Artie's wheels were the source of the flashing red lights.

They opened the doors to find Santana, armed with a baseball bat and an expression that Rachel recognized as one that meant serious buisiness. She was surrounded by the rest of the group, each with matching looks of frenzy on their faces.

"Where did you get that?" Rachel asked with a sniffle.

"We heard screaming!" Santana yelled, ignoring her. Her eyes were wide and looked a tad bit out of focus. "You disappeared and then there was screaming!"

Quinn brushed by the group and pushed Artie to the van as Rachel stood in front of them, eyes rimmed with red and tears still traveling down her face.

"I...it was dark...and I couldn't find them." Rachel said quietly. "And then I knocked into Artie and thought he was a serial killer."

"You're bleeding, Jesus. WHEELS WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?" Santana yelled, turning around to apparently accost Artie with her weapon. If Rachel wasn't so shaken she probably would have yelled at whoever thought it was a good idea to let Santana have the bat.

Brittany stepped forward and peered at Rachel's forehead. "Oh jeez." The blonde said.

"Is it bad?" Rachel asked, terrified. She brought her hand to her forehead and felt warm blood oozing out of her head. "Oh God I'm concussed!"

"Shh, no, Rachel!" Brittany said, placing her a gentle hand on Rachel's shoulder in attempt to calm her down. "It's just a scrape. We have a first aid kit in the van, come on I'll help you."

Brittany guided Rachel back to the van as the boys followed.

"Well this is a mess." She heard Finn mutter as they followed.

"At least no one's dead." Kurt said with a heavy but relieved sigh.

_Not dead, just extremely embarrassed. _Rachel thought as Brittany slid open the door to the van and helped her sit on the edge of the middle seat. Her legs dangled outside the vehicle.

The sound of Santana yelling was audible throughout the vehicle as Brittany rummaged through the glove compartment for the First Aid kit. Rachel sighed, trying to block it out, as Quinn squeezed by Rachel and into the van.

"Um. Sorry." Quinn muttered as she took her spot in the back seat. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Brittany let out a triumphant "AHA!" as she finally clutched the small plastic box.

Rachel smiled at Quinn. "It's okay. I didn't mean to scare you either." Rachel muttered.

"Oh fuck, you're bleeding. Are you o-" Quinn cut herself off and closed her eyes. Rachel frowned, slightly confused as to why Quinn wouldn't just ask. She tried to not to think about what the _Hell _Quinn's sudden silence meant and turned her head to face Brittany. She had moved to stand outside between Rachel's knees and was opening an alcohol swab.

Rachel winced once the taller girl brought it to her forehead. "Sorry!" Brittany hissed before throwing the swab on the ground and ripping open a band aid. She quickly fixed it to the wound on Rachel's head and smiled at her work. "All better!" Brittany exclaimed. "I'd kiss it but I think a few people might try to kill me."

Quinn sputtered from the back seat, and Rachel's face flushed at the comment. She quietly said thanks to Brittany with a small smile before moving to sit properly in the vehicle.

The rest of the band and crew started piling into the van, Artie white as a ghost and trying to avoid making eye contact with a still fuming Santana. "Sorry Rachel." He mumbled, eyes down as Puck gently placed him in his reserved spot upfront.

Rachel nodded. "It's okay. I am too." She said, giving him a look that meant _that includes Santana. _She leaned forward and placed her newly bandaged head in her palms, letting herself mope and be genuinely embarrassed.

* * *

Quinn sat in an arm chair in the lobby of the Minneapolis Holiday Inn, legs draped over one of the arms. She was trying to avoid the chaos that the rest of her band mates (and movie star) were causing as Kurt attempted to check in. The sight would have been amusing, but her mind was occupied with trying to keep the burning feeling of Rachel's arms still wrapped around her.

Brittany ditched the group buzzing around the front desk and flopped unceremoniously onto the couch next to Quinn.

"Hey Q Ball." She said stifling a yawn.

"Hey Britt. Tired?" She asked, sitting up a little.

She shook her head, strands of blonde hair shaking loose from her pony tail. "Nah." She yawned again. "Maybe a little.

Quinn giggled. "Me too. How's it going up there." Quinn asked, nodding her head to the source of chaos. The man sitting behind the counter was now cowering as Santana started yelling, Kurt and Rachel unsuccessfully trying to restrain her.

"Santana's trying to get room upgrades. And failing." Brittany explained.

Quinn sighed. Of course. Somebody should inform Santana that bullying usually didn't work in these situations.

"I like her." Brittany said. Quinn turned and looked at her friend, who was smiling to herself broadly.

"I figured." Quinn said, smiling back.

"I think she likes me." Brittany continued, her blue eyes twinkling hopefully as she gazed up at Santana. Sam and Puck and successfully dragged her away from the counter and she was now standing cross armed and scowling. Her pout instantly melted into a smile as she looked up and met Brittany's eyes from across the room.

Quinn chuckled. "Yeah, I think she does too."

"Should I ask her out? Is it too soon?" Brittany asked, waving at Santana.

"No harm in trying." Quinn said. She figured that the brunette would jump straight into Brittany's arms. "Just know that-"

"Yeah I know the drill." Brittany stated. "If she breaks my heart you'll beat her up."

Quinn nodded with a small grin. "No one fucks with B."

Brittany turned her gaze from Santana to Quinn and smiled appreciatively. "Thanks Q."

Quinn hummed and dropped back down into her original position.

"You know I'll beat Rachel up too. If she breaks your heart. Okay maybe not beat her up, because that would kind of be like beating up a chihuahua. Or a Pomeranian. She'll get a rough talking too though." Brittany said, nonchalantly. Quinn gulped at the statement. Was it that obvious?

She opened her mouth to respond but was cut off as the group walked over.

"That asshole behind the counter wouldn't except the $20 I slipped him." Santana said with a scowl.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "It's a good thing they didn't _ban _us. I thought you were going to throttle him!"

Santana scoffed before he continued.

"Alright." Kurt said, taking on his 'I'm in charge' tone. It was one no one dared to mess with. "Breakfast is served between 6-11. Check out is at 12 am tomorrow. We will meet right here, ready to leave then. Puck, Sam, Artie, Finn, you boys are in room 112." Kurt said, handing Artie the room key. "Britt, Quinn and I will be in 113. And Rachel and Santana, you guys are in 114."

Rachel's jaw dropped open. "Why aren't we splitting a room with Quinn and Brittany, Santana? Shouldn't it be boys and girls?" Rachel asked.

Quinn had to purposefully avoid staring at the adorable pout the diva was wearing on her face. She decided to focus on a muddy spot on the tip of her Converse instead.

"There's an uneven number of people here, and I figured you'd like your own bed." Santana said with a shrug.

"Besides, I would _much_ rather be bunking with Q and Britt." Kurt stated with a shudder. Quinn didn't blame him for that one. She loved them all to death but sleeping in a small room with Finn and Puck was like sleeping in a gas chamber.

Rachel hmphed. "I don't appreciate that you assume I'm not willing to be a team player, Santana."

"Alright, fine. Next time we'll split the room. Can we go get our stuff? Does this place have room service?" Santana said, brushing her off and turning to go back to the van.

Brittany poked Quinn's shoulder and looked at her pointedly. "Should I do it now?" Brittany whispered.

Quinn shrugged. "Whatever feels right to you, Britt." Quinn said earnestly. Brittany immediately bounded up and jogged out the door to catch up with Santana. Quinn sighed to herself, hoping that this wouldn't end up with her having to fight Santana. She slowly stood up and stretched, and headed out to the parking lot to get her stuff from the van, too.

She quickly grabbed her suitcase from the back of the trailer, trying to avoid eavesdropping on the conversation Brittany and Santana were having in the empty corner of the parking lot. As she made her way back in she passed Kurt and Rachel, who were both lost in conversation, animatedly discussing something. She passed, her heartbeat slowing and disappointment settling in her stomach at another avoided situation with Rachel. Halfway into the building she realized she needed to get the room key from Kurt. She sighed as she turned around.

"Well you were absolutely enthralling, I must say! With Jesse St. James as Brian, oh my god your onstage chemistry was perfect! I just loved it!" Kurt gushed.

Rachel giggled, "Well thank you very much Kurt. I'm glad you enjoyed the show."

Quinn shook her head. "Guys." So far they hadn't noticed Quinn's presence.

"Well, I hope you return to Broadway soon. I hear that Will Schuester is planning a revival of Funny Girl. Ohhhh you would be perfect as Fanny Brice!" Kurt exclaimed, stopping and bouncing on his heels slightly.

Rachel's eyes widened with delight. "Oh I know! I've heard those rumors too. Fanny's my dream role!" Rachel exclaimed, giddly.

"GUYS!" Quinn yelled, snapping her fingers.

They both stopped their prepubescent squealing to acknowledge Quinn.

"What do you want?" Kurt asked, obviously irked that his important conversation was being interrupted.

"Room key." Quinn stated.

Kurt dropped the card key in Quinn's hand. "Now leave. We were discussing things."

Rachel frowned a little at Kurt, and then looked back at Quinn, her eyes wide and bright even in the dim lighting of the parking lot. "No, Quinn you don't have to leave. We were just talking about a possible Funny Girl revival. Do you like musicals?"

Quinn rolled her eyes before turning around, she was not about to get into that. Not that she was hated musicals or anything. She _was_ a well rounded musician and enjoyed going to a show every now and then with Kurt. But, staying around Rachel was dangerous. She had decided that earlier on after her discussion with Kurt she would avoid her at all cost. Besides, she would probably just end up staring into Rachel's eyes like some sort of lunatic, nodding dumbly. It was not the time to test out her 'Santana talking to Brittany' impression.

She trudged up to the elevator and into her room and dropped her bag onto the nearest bed. She dug through it, deciding to make use of the shower before everyone came in. She grabbed her things, special color treated shampoo and conditioner, body wash, tooth brush and tooth paste, and a clean shirt and pair of gym shorts, and slipped into the bathroom. She took her time in the shower, reveling in the way the hot water soothed her muscles and the how good it felt to wash two days worth of performance accumulated sweat (she never did get to use that shower yesterday) off of her.

She stepped out of the shower after some time, surprised that no one had banged on the door and demand her to exit. She stepped up to the mirror, swiping some steam out of the way with her forearm, and leaned forward to inspect her hair. It had faded slightly with the water in the shower, but nothing horrible yet. She toweled off speedily before throwing her pajamas on and brushing her teeth.

She opened the door and stepped out into darkness. Quinn figured her roommates had just decided to go to bed and deal with showering in the morning. She stretched before slipping under the covers of the bed she had claimed earlier and distanced herself from Brittany who was already on the opposite side of the bed.

"Britt, you awake?" Quinn whispered. She wanted to know how her talk with Santana went. She was met with a half hearted groan that sort of sounded like a yes.

"How did it go?" Quinn asked.

Brittany groaned again and turned over, cuddling up into Quinn's side. She was used to it, Brittany was a cuddler. She moved over to adjust, normally used to being the little spoon since Brittany was the taller of the two.

She screamed when she felt someone that was distinctively not Brittany. Judging by the fact that the person pressed up into her was almost a foot shorter than Brittany was.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Quinn yelled, hopping out of the covers.

Kurt flipped the light on with a groan from the bed next to them, bathing the room in light. A very sleepy and confused looking Rachel sat up in Quinn's bed and rubbed her eyes. Quinn silently cursed. This was the _second time _this had happened tonight. Could she have a run in with Rachel that didn't lead to a heart attack?

"S'was goin on?" Rachel grumbled.

Quinn felt blood boiling through her as she turned to face Kurt. "Kurt!" She demanded, her eyes narrowing.

Kurt was sprawled on the bed, facing the two girls on his side. "Yes?" He asked, amusement in his voice.

"Where's Brittany?" Quinn asked.

Kurt shrugged, smiling smugly. "Her and Santana had a talk, and kicked Rachel out of the room. I can only assume they're doing something highly inappropriate."

"Why's everyone being so loud?" Rachel whined quietly, slumping face down on the pillow.

"And why did we put her in my bed?" Quinn hissed.

"Because it was more appropriate?" Kurt asked, eyebrows raising in challenge.

Quinn felt flustered. This was _sooooooooooo_ not happening. She stomped across the room. "I'd like to speak with you in private."

Kurt opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off by as Quinn grabbed the collar of his flannel pajama shirt. She dragged him out of bed and into the bathroom, leaving a sleeping and oblivious Rachel snoring gently on the bed behind them.

Quinn slammed the door. "What the Hell Kurt? What happened to the conversation we had today?"

Kurt shrugged. "Quinn, you're being immature. Since when was this a big deal? You're sleeping in the same bed with her, and last I checked you weren't Puck."

Quinn groaned. "You go from telling me to handle the situation properly, to forcing me to sleep with her!"

"Technically, Brittany and Santana are forcing you to sleep with her." Kurt said, causing Quinn to fix him with a death glare. "Just saying."

"I'm sleeping in your bed. You're sleeping with her." Quinn said, storming out of the bathroom.

Kurt sighed and shook his head, wondering why girls had to make everything so difficult. He exited the bathroom, back into quiet darkness, and slipped into the bed next to Rachel.

"Santana?" Rachel grumbled, rolling into his side. He groaned a little as he moved away, understanding suddenly why Quinn didn't want to stay in the bed with her. His last thought before he drifted off was that he hoped the next 28 days would contain a lot less screaming than that day had.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **First of all, thank you everyone who's been reading this story! This chapter is my way of coping with the bullshit that was last night's finale. I hope it helps settles all of your stomachs, too. Please review!

* * *

It was 6 in the morning, and Quinn was awake. And very unhappy.

"Turn that frown upside down!" Rachel exclaimed, way too eager. Quinn grunted in response. She might have said words if she was awake, or if it _wasn't_ 6 in the morning.

Her and Kurt, both half asleep and looking like zombies wearing pajamas, were stuck in the elevator with a bright eyed and bushy tailed Rachel. The diva had woken up at 5 o'clock - her phone blasting _My Heart Will Go On _and waking up her 2 roommates in the process- and had very noisily set out to start her day. Quinn and Kurt had both groaned as the girl hummed loudly, getting ready. They were granted a half hour of sleep when she had disappeared to the hotel's gym for 30 minutes, but were woken up again when she had come back into the room and declared that they had to go get breakfast. Quinn, in her half awake state of mind, was out of her bed and following Rachel out the door before she could even realize what was going on. Kurt had agreed once he realized he was alone in the room.

"It's too early for singing." Kurt whined, his eyes half closed and swaying slightly as Rachel started to sing along to whatever song was in her head.

Rachel giggled. "You're silly Kurt, it's never too early for music!"

The door dinged as it opened, and Rachel strode out. The two zombies shuffled to follow her.

"Did you happen to see if woodland creatures dressed her this morning?" Kurt muttered.

Quinn grunted again, a noise that meant 'No, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case', because saying so was too much work at such an hour.

Kurt nodded in understanding.

The three walked into the dining room. It was empty except for 2 employees that were bustling about, setting various breakfast items out onto the buffet table. They each grabbed trays and worked their way down the line. Kurt grabbed a cup of coffee, a danish, and a yogurt and headed to sit at one of the empty tables. Rachel balanced her tray with a various array of fruits and a cup of coffee before following him. Quinn piled her tray high with bacon, waffles and some mini packs of butter, and her own coffee and slumped down next to Kurt.

Rachel immediately frowned at the miniature tower of bacon on Quinn's plate that was leaning slightly, a butcher's version of the Tower of Pisa. "Quinn, I hope you know that-"

"Save it." Quinn said, her first actual words of the day, before stuffing her mouth full of bacon.

Kurt grimaced as he watched her. "Yeah, don't get in the way of Fabray and her bacon." He averted his eyes back down to his cup of yogurt and swirled his spoon around.

"I was just concerned with you're health. And would like to make sure that you knew the morale.." Rachel trailed off at the look of pure evil Quinn shot her as she chewed her mouthful of food. She quickly stuffed her own mouth with a piece of chopped pineapple.

The trio ate in silence after that. Quinn was grateful for the reprieve from noise as her coffee slowly brought her to life.

"Jesus Christ, what the fuck time is it?" She finally asked, once she was fully aware of her surroundings.

Rachel pulled out her phone. "6:20." She stated.

Quinn groaned and slammed her head on the table, her plate now empty. "Why?"

"Because it's not 6:19 anymore?" Rachel asked, her brow furrowing.

"Why are we up?" Quinn asked, her voice muffled by her tray.

"Because we have this entire, wonderful day ahead of us!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Everyone else is asleep." Quinn said, lifting her head and rubbing her temples. "And there's nothing to do in the hotel room until everyone wakes up. Which won't happen until right before we _leave_."

"You could give me my guitar lesson." Rachel suggested helpfully.

Kurt giggled. "Good luck."

Rachel frowned. "Quinn?"

"Whatever." She said, standing up. "I'm getting more coffee and bacon."

* * *

Rachel walked back into the hotel room carrying Quinn's guitar case and frowning deeply. Quinn and Kurt were sprawled across the same bed, Kurt flipping through the newspaper and Quinn watching the news. To Rachel's obvious displeasure, they were both in their pajamas still.

"Sam's guitar wasn't in the trailer." Rachel said as she gently leaned the instrument against the wall. "Did any of you notice if he brought it in last night?"

She cut across the floor and dropped the keys into Kurt's hand, who shrugged. "No idea."

Quinn shook her head, not looking away from the news. "You could check with him."

Kurt chuckled. "Which will most likely prove to be futile." He looked at his watch. It was 7 am on the nose. "Oh yeah, definitely futile.

Rachel placed her tiny hands on her hips. "What room is he in?"

Kurt flicked the page of his paper. "112."

Rachel spun around on her heel and stormed out of the room.

"Well, I'm going back to bed. There's no way shes getting them to open that door." Kurt said as he set his newspaper on the nightstand.

Quinn stood up and moved to the other bed. "Couldn't you have just given her their spare room key?" She asked as she sprawled across the mattress, letting out a delighted sigh at lying down once again.

Kurt nodded devilishly. "God bless her, she's wonderful, but this is too much. The sun is barely up."

Quinn laughed into her pillow and closed her eyes.

"I suppose you find it endearing." He stated, settling himself in his own bed.

Quinn mumbled something inaudible in her face down position.

"What was that?" Kurt asked.

"It's cute I guess. Fine." Quinn grumbled.

Kurt laughed. "Who would have thought."

"Just shut up."

It was quiet for a few minutes as they both tried to fall asleep, a hopeless effort thanks to all of the caffeine they had already consumed. To both of their horrors, Rachel re-entered the room wearing a triumphant smile and clutching Sam's guitar.

"How did you manage that?" Kurt asked, completely shocked. Quinn sat up and groaned inwardly, rubbing at her eyes and silently planning some form of revenge on the boys for opening their door.

"My sunny disposition and my determination." Rachel answered, crossing the floor to sit on the bed with Quinn.

"So you banged on the door until they let you in?" Quinn asked, slightly amused.

"Maybe." Rachel hummed, her eyes gleaming with mirth.

Kurt stood up. "Well I guess I'll leave you ladies to it. I'm going to go get some more coffee."

Quinn shot him a pleading look, which he pointedly ignored as he turned and walked out the door. The door slammed behind him heavily and the automatic lock clicked shut, causing the suffocating lack of conversation to feel heavier. Rachel studied Quinn intently, while Quinn did her best not to look at her.

"Well, um...should we get started?" Rachel asked, suddenly feeling nervous. She slipped Sam's guitar out of his case and sat on the bed opposite of Quinn.

Quinn nodded. "Yeah. Sure."

Rachel started tuning as she stood up walked over to grab her guitar and dragged it over to the bed. She pulled it out along with a pick and started playing, absentmindedly.

"What is that? Would I know it?" Rachel asked, stopping her ministrations to watch as Quinn's fingers swept across the fretboard, playing something quick and bluesy.

Quinn kept her eyes down. "No, it's improvised. I'm just warming up."

"Wow." Rachel said, clearly impressed. "That's..that's very good. You're...I didn't...you're a lot better than you let on."

A rosy blush crept up Quinn's cheeks. "I..uh...thanks." She muttered. She stopped playing as Rachel started humming again, joining in and matching the remaining strings to her pitch.

Rachel looked up expectantly as Quinn fiddled with the top strings quickly, trying to catch up. Once Quinn was finished she looked up and met Rachel's eyes, feeling her heart flutter.

_Get it under control, Fabray._

"So, I guess we should start with that scale you figured out." Quinn said, finally composing herself. "Or attempted to."

Rachel frowned "It makes me warm and fuzzy inside, how much faith you have in my musicianship. I'll have you know that I went to _Tisch _and graduated with a performance and-"

"Play the damn scale." Quinn sighed.

Rachel huffed indignantly and sat up a tad straighter. She slowly worked her way up and down as Quinn observed quietly. She finished the arpeggio at the end and looked up expectantly, fighting a smile but eyes shining with pride.

"Well?" She finally asked, unsettled by the deep look in Quinn's eye.

"Well." Quinn stated, blinking slowly.

"Was that good?" Rachel asked. "I figured it out perfectly."

Quinn sighed. "You got the notes right. Your technique is still off, though."

"What does that mean?" Rachel asked, defensively.

"Well, it's like singing right? I mean, I didn't go to a fancy college or have years of experience on Broadway, but what I can tell you about that is that you need to sing from your diaphragm and that you need to stand up straight. Otherwise you're not going to sound very good." Quinn said, pausing to make sure Rachel was following.

Rachel nodded to show she understood.

"So you're playing on the flats of your fingers, and not your fingertips which is the stringed equivalent of diaphragm." Quinn said. "And you keep forgetting to hold your fingers in place as you work your way up the frets."

Rachel frowned. "Oh." She said, disappointment ringing through her voice. She thought she had been playing on her fingertips.

"It's okay. You've only been playing for less than 24 hours." Quinn said. "Watch me do it. And then we'll do it together, slowly."

Quinn held the guitar up at sort of an angle so Rachel could clearly watch. She noted how Quinn's hand curled over the strings. She finished with the same little arpeggio.

"Alright, ready?" Quinn asked. "We'll go slow. 8th notes." Rachel nodded and Quinn counted off the tempo, "1, 2, 3, 4." at a snails pace.

They both played, Quinn effortless while Rachel's brow furrowed in concentration. There was a difference between Rachel's way and the right way. The right way hurt the back of her hands, knuckles, and fingertips. She winced as she hit the top 3 strings, the metal biting into her skin.

"You're doing great. Excellent." Quinn praised as the played down the scale. Rachel groaned, clearly disagreeing , but kept on playing. They finished, sans the E major arpeggio, and Rachel winced.

"This hurts."

"I know." Quinn said. "But what was the first rule?"

"Don't complain." Rachel stated, rolling her eyes.

Quinn smiled broadly, her teeth showing. Rachel felt something in her chest pang, Quinn's smile was absolutely _magnificent._

"Awesome. Now do it again, on your own. Go _slow._" Quinn instructed.

Rachel played the scale, very slowly. And again at Quinn's request in a slightly faster tempo.

"Awesome. You're doing very well." Quinn said, earnestly.

Rachel moaned. "When can we work on something else?"

"Once you get the technique down. Fundamentals, my friend. Someone like you should know how important they are, and appreciate their necessity." Quinn teased, mocking Rachel's lecturing tone.

Rachel's expression lifted immediately, ignoring how Quinn had so blatantly made fun of her, her concentrated frown lifting at the corners and turning into a delighted smile.

"Are we?" Rachel asked, hopefully.

Quinn gulped, not understanding what she said to make her look like that. Like she had just won the lottery. "Are we what?"

"_Friends." _Rachel hissed. From this distance Quinn could notice the slight crinkles in the corner of Rachel's deep brown eyes.

"I. Uh...I..." Quinn stammered. "I guess. Yeah. We're friends."

Rachel squealed and bounced up and down on the bed. "Yay yay yay!"

Quinn watched her skeptically, slightly confused as to why it mattered so much to the brunette and slightly worried about what that meant for her and her...crush. "Yay. Okay. We need to work."

Rachel stopped bouncing and her expression fell, her eyes furrowing and lips tucked into a slight pout. Quinn recognized it as her "serious business" face. She couldn't help but giggle.

"Okay, well. I guess now we're going to work on picking." Quinn stated. "Now, obviously there are two different kinds of strokes. Up and down." Quinn said, demonstrating across the open strings of her guitar. "I want you to play the scale, and pick it how you normally would, whatever feels natural. But pay attention to how you're doing it, whether you use all down strokes, or alternate."

Rachel nodded, and played up the scale, noting how her picking hand was in fact alternating. "I alternate." She said once she finished.

Quinn nodded. "Awesome. Now I want you to play the scale again, but only use down strokes."

"I'm not questioning your authority." Rachel began, her preface to her next question causing Quinn to chuckle and roll her eyes. "But why does it matter?"

Quinn shrugged. "It will. Trust me it will. Once we get to playing chords and leads, it will."

Rachel nodded, and played up the scale, very slowly, focusing hard on strumming down each time. She slipped up a few times and groaned, starting back at the bottom of the scale.

"Why do you keep restarting each time?" Quinn asked.

"Because I need to get it right." Rachel grunted, her hand stroking upward on only the G. "You made me mess up again!"

"Good, don't move. Just keep going. Didn't they teach you at that fancy university to just keep going when you make a mistake during these things?" Quinn asked.

Rachel frowned at Quinn, obviously annoyed, but kept going. Quinn smiled. She decided that she could handle being around Rachel with their guitars as buffers, and her teaching clearly giving her the upper hand.

Rachel practiced through the scale a few more times, until she was sure she could get through it with all down strokes.

"Now what?" Rachel asked, expectantly.

Quinn chewed on her lip as she checked the bedside clock. It was already 8 o'clock. "Nothing." She said. "Lessons over."

Rachel frowned. "Homework?" She asked.

"Figure out how to play the melody of a song, any song, with the first three frets. And work on all the techniques I've shown you." Quinn said.

Rachel nodded, her 'serious business' look masking her face again. "On it."

"Not now." Quinn stated. "I'm going back to bed."

Rachel whined. "No, what? I'm on a roll!"

Quinn placed her guitar back in the case and stood to place it gently against the wall on the other side of the room. "Not my problem."

"Quinn, just because you're my guitar teacher doesn't mean you govern me." She stated. "If you wish to sleep that's on you, but I am going to practice."

Rachel's brown eyes, fiery and angry, bore directly into Quinn's.

"I can't govern you. But you can wake me up at 6 am to have breakfast?" She challenged, her brow raising. Rachel opened her mouth to respond, but couldn't think of anything and closed it again. Quinn triumphantly slipped back under the covers of her bed while Rachel packed away Sam's guitar.

It was quiet as Quinn finally felt herself drift off.

"Quinn?" Rachel called out, causing hazel eyes to rip open.

"What?" Quinn groaned sleepily.

"When did you start learning how to play guitar?" Rachel asked, oblivious to the fact that Quinn was only sort of awake.

Quinn huffed, her voice gravelly with sleep. "16 maybe? Can I go back to sleep?"

"Why?"

"Because I'm tired."

"No why did you start learning how to play guitar?" Rachel asked her voice low and awe filled as if she were asking if there actually was a gunman on the grassy knoll, instead of asking a question about Quinn's life.

Quinn _loved _it.

She sat up and rubbed at her eyes. "That's...uh, that's a long story." She answered truthfully. She didn't want to get into it at that hour, though she already knew she would if Rachel asked.

"You don't have to tell me." Rachel said quietly, almost defeated but with a hint of understanding. It surprised Quinn.

"Honestly? The easy answer I guess would be that it pissed off my parents. That's why I did most of the things I did at that age, just to try and piss off Mom and Dad. But um...instead of like, mindless acts of vandalism that would get me arrested or beating people up, it actually made me feel good...better...so I guess that's why I stuck with it." Quinn explained, scratching the back of her head.

Rachel nodded, her eyes blown a little, enthralled by Quinn's words. "Music is a very powerful thing."

"Heh, yeah." Quinn said in agreement, she yawned into her hand and smiled softly when Rachel mimicked her actions,

"But why did having a creative outlet piss off your parents? Wouldn't something like that be encouraged?" Rachel asked obliviously, voice thick and suddenly sleepy. She had grown up in a very accepting household. Her fathers had encouraged her to be herself, and express herself however necessary. She couldn't fathom how something as enriching as playing an instrument, especially Quinn who was incredibly talented at it, could be frowned upon.

Quinn sighed. "It didn't piss them off, that was the problem."

"What does that mean?" Rachel asked, completely confused.

"My parents weren't exactly the most...attentive people I guess. They were really, square. Your average WASPS. Bible thumping, Glenn Beck lovers, had an absolute fit when Obama was elected." Quinn explained with a humorless laugh. "Growing up, I was thrown in etiquette classes and all of that stuff. Playing guitar was strictly a boy's thing, at least it was supposed to be. I guess I figured it would have been like the 'We're Not Gonna Take It' video. And my dad would run in and start yelling and I'd play a chord and turn into Dee Snyder." She chuckled and shook her head. "It didn't work, at least in that respect. But it gave me an outlet."

Rachel nodded. "I'm sorry." She mumbled, not really sure what else to say.

Quinn shook her head. "Nah, don't be. They may have sucked but I mean, I turned out okay right?" Quinn asked with a shy, self deprecating smile.

Rachel nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, of course. You're incredible." She whispered. This time as if she was the one telling the secret.

Quinn couldn't help but think that it was.

She felt her cheeks flush again and her heart pumping wildly in her chest, a tell tale sign that she was stepping in the danger zone.

"I um. That's...I'm gonna go to sleep again." She stammered.

Rachel nodded in concession.

"Okay, I guess I'll go drop Sam's guitar back off." She stated. She quietly slipped out of the room as Quinn slipped under the covers. She closed her eyes as she drifted off, thinking about the past hour alone with Rachel and what caused the shift in their relationship, or if they could even call it that yet since whatever was happening between her and the doe-eyed little starlet was still in it's infancy. She shouldn't have told Rachel they were friends. She should have let Puck or Sam give her lessons. She shouldn't be thinking of how adorable the way Rachel's nose and eyes crinkled or the way her laugh filled up the room like an orchestra.

She just needed to sleep.

* * *

It was 1 pm, and they had been on the road for an hour so far, slowly driving over through the corn fields and emptiness.

"We shouldn't have stayed last night. We should have left with Punk Rock Jesus and the other bands." Kurt fretted. They were due in Nashville the next day at 2 pm, and it was a 14 hour drive nonstop. An almost impossible feat.

"Relax, White Queen." Santana said. "We couldn't have checked out of the hotel until the minute we left anyway. What's the venue going to do anyway, kick you off your own bill?" Santana asked.

Kurt worried his lip. "Still. We should have followed the other bands, drove through the night last night and stayed in a hotel tonight. We're never going to get there on time. It's unprofessional"

"Kurt." Finn said from behind the wheel. "You need to relax. We will get there on time if it kills me." He turned over his shoulder to smile at Kurt, causing the van to swerve over to the right.

"JESUS FUCK!" Artie yelled, grabbing for the wheel and pulling it over. "Kill us is right."

Finn smiled sheepishly at Artie before turning his attention back to the road.

"Alright, pull over!" Santana yelled. Finn complied and reared the van over to the right, safely on the edge of the highway. Once they were completely stopped, Santana slid the door open and walked around to the drivers side.

"What are you doing?" Finn asked as Santana whipped the door open.

"Driving." She stated. "You're going to get us killed."

"What, no. Santana-"

"Miss Lopez to you." Santana corrected, waggling her finger.

"_Santana." _Finn challenged. "Sit down."

Santana laughed and shook her head as everyone watched intently, sensing the impending blood shed and wondering how much farther Finn would dig himself down in the hole he was currently in. Everyone except for Rachel, who had her hands covering her face.

"Haha, okay." Santana said, throwing her hands up. Finn smiled smugly as Santana smiled back at him.

"It's over that quickly?" Puck asked in shock.

Rachel shook her head, and peaked through her fingers. She groaned at the look Santana was wearing, the gleaming spark in her eyes telling Rachel what Santana was planning. "No. No it's not"

Suddenly, Santana reached up and caught Finn by the collar of his t-shirt. With a swift tug she pulled him down from the seat, throwing him carelessly to the road. He collapsed on his ass, a look of shock on his face, as Santana climbed up and took his spot. She adjusted the rear view mirror before closing the door and rolling the window down.

"Better hurry up or we're leaving." Santana yelled out the window. Finn just sat up, rubbing at his backside a little. Santana laughed and revved the engine, causing Finn to scramble up and run back into the van, barely making it in time before Santana veered the van back out onto the street. He slammed the door closed and sat flopped down to the empty seat next to Brittany that Santana had abandoned, gasping like a fish out of water.

"Jesus Christ, what's your problem!" Finn yelled, his face splotchy and red.

Santana huffed at him. "You almost killed us, I've got precious cargo in this van." Santana said.

"Santana, he veered off the road slightly. While I appreciate the sentiment, manhandling him was overreacting." Rachel stated.

Santana laughed and shook her head. "Wasn't talking about you sweetheart." She raised her eyes to the rear view mirror and winked at Brittany, who squealed excitedly.

"Someone got lucky last night." Puck said, eyebrow raising suggestively.

"Shut it Puck." Quinn said, shoving Puck.

"I'm sensing you're jealous it wasn't you." Puck said, looking up and down Quinn. "Yeah, you definitely slept alone last night."

Quinn fumed, Rachel blushed.

"Alright, now that we have pissed off the two most dangerous people in this bus, can we please just get going. We have a show tomorrow." Kurt pleaded, causing Finn's scowl to turn up into a smile.

"He was talking about Quinn and Santana." Sam muttered, forcing the scowl back on to Finn's face.

* * *

3 hours later, they had made a pit stop somewhere along the outskirts of Green Bay, Wisconsin. The September sun was beating down as the group scattered about the rest stop.

"CHEESE HEADS!" Brittany yelled, placing one on top of her fluffy blonde head.

Quinn shook her head and smiled. "You look ridiculous."

Brittany held one out and plopped it on Quinn. "Then we're going down together." Brittany stated happily.

"Haha." Quinn said, sliding it off. "No, Britt."

"Oh come on!" Brittany begged, bouncing on her heels. "One picture!"

"Fine." Quinn whined, not one to deny her friend. Brittany beamed and pulled out her phone, snapping a picture of the two cheese heads in the mini mirror on the rack. Quinn took the hat off and put it back.

"Come on Stinky Cheese Man, I want to get a soda." Quinn said playfully. Brittany put hers back and followed Quinn up to the cooler.

"So, sorry about dumping Rachel on you last night." Brittany said her blue eyes twinkling with sincerity. Quinn smiled and waved her off.

"Nah, you were busy." Quinn said.

"Not really." Brittany said. "We just ordered room service, watched a movie, and talked. And cuddled too. Well, we made out a little too. But there were no sexy times."

Quinn sputtered. That wasn't what she had meant by getting busy. "How did it go?" Quinn asked, changing the subject.

Brittany smiled dreamily. "Awesome, I kind of just went for it and she said yes. And so I asked if she wanted to go out on our next day off in Texas, and she just shrugged and asked why don't we do it right now, so yeah. That's why we threw Rachel out."

"I'm happy for you Britt." Quinn said, opening up the cooler and pulling out a vanilla coke.

Brittany grabbed for one too. "Thanks, Q." She wrapped her free hand around Quinn's shoulders and squeezed her tightly into her side. Quinn laughed and wrapped her's back.

"So did anything happen with Rachel?" Brittany asked, as the girls made their way up to the counter and took their spot behind an incredibly dirty looking trucker.

"No. And Britt, I wanted to talk to you about that. Nothing's going to...just...There's nothing going on with her." Quinn stated.

Brittany frowned. "Don't lie to me Quinn, I know I might not be the smartest person ever when it comes to like, books and stuff, but I know when you're lying to me."

Quinn smiled sheepishly at Brittany. "No, Britt. You are incredibly smart. And I'm not lying. There really isn't."

Brittany opened her mouth to argue, but it was her turn to be cut off, this time by Puck and Finn who ambled up in line behind them.

"Stocked up on snacks." Puck said proudly, holding up a basket filled to the brim with sugary treats like he was showing off a newborn. Brittany high fived him happily.

"Excellent, just what I need. To be crammed in a tin can with you idiots hopped up on sugar." Quinn groaned.

"We may be idiots but you love us! Don't even try to lie." Finn exclaimed, wrapping an arm around Quinn and pulling her into him. She mumbled but hugged him back.

"BAND HUG!" Puck yelled, grabbing Brittany and toppling into the two.

It was a sweet moment, until the man behind the counter coughed loudly and yelled "NEXT!"

Quinn broke apart from their cornucopia of love and placed her and Brittany's cokes on the counter. She fished out a few dollars from her pocket and paid the man, then stood off to the side to wait for her friends. They all hobbled outside to the pump, finding Sam and Artie standing by the van.

"Where's the three fashionably dressed amigos?" Puck asked, throwing packages of junk food at Sam and Artie. Artie caught the package of Doritos in his hand and smiled proudly as Sam fumbled the twinkies.

"They're off buying a map, according to them the GPS is broken." Artie explained. "Kurt was pissed. We're apparently not supposed to be anywhere near here, but according to the GPS we're still on schedule."

Puck slid the door open and dropped his grocery bags inside.

'Well, I know I'm taking bets on whether or not Kurt and Santana end up killing each other." Finn said, rubbing absently at his lower back where he had landed earlier.

Brittany frowned and thumped Finn on the back. "Ow, jeez!"

"She wouldn't do that." Brittany said.

"ARE YOU SURE YOUR NAME ISN'T SATAN?" Kurt voice boomed throughout the parking lot. The group turned to find Santana and Kurt standing by the door of the rest stop, both red faced and furious, while Rachel tried to pry them away from each other.

Brittany frowned. "Maybe Kurt would though."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: (1) **I'm so sorry this took so long! Life has been a tad bit ridiculous lately, and it's severely cut into my fanfic writing time. Don't worry though, I haven't abandoned this story. Things are about to get interesting, and I hope you like it. And as always, please please please review!

**A/N: (2) **So I'm aware that a lot of people have left FFN due to it's policy changes and roaming gangs of anti-porn vigilantes. Although this story isn't straight up smut, and still has a little way to go before we get to anything like that, I'm still a bit nervous about losing this story and all of you awesome readers. I guess the point of this note is to say that if you're still using this site thank you, and if something happens to it I'll be putting this up on either livejournal or A03 (if I ever get my invite) so it's not lost forever.

* * *

The van rattled slightly as Brittany veered it down the empty highway. The sky was an inky navy, blue stars dotted graciously against it. Rachel had her forehead leaned against the back window, staring intently as the van bustled along the dark road, a street light illuminating every few feet. She was tired, but completely in awe of just how many stars there were in the sky, back home in LA and NYC they were masked by the clouds, the remnants of city life. She reveled in the fact that everyone was asleep, and that Brittany was probably just trying to keep her eyes open. It was an incredible moment.

"I love driving here at this time of night. There are so many stars." A husky voice whispered into her ear. Rachel felt herself gasp as warm breath tickled across the shell of her ear and sent goose bumps shivering down the back of her neck. She turned and found herself face to face to Quinn. They were so close their noses were pressed together lightly, and as they passed under a street light Quinn's normally hazel eyes flashed a verdant green.

Rachel gulped audibly as her face flushed hot, Quinn's gaze making something spark throughout her body. She could feel the corner of Quinn's lips tug up and her heart pound harshly against her chest as if it had were a prisoner.

"Quinn." Rachel breathed out, a natural reaction to what was happening to her.

She felt Quinn shift forward and place a hand gently on her cheek, tilting her own head slightly. "I want to see a different kind of stars now." Quinn muttered, before pressing her lips gently against Rachel's.

Rachel moaned into the kiss, their lips sliding together smoothly as Quinn's thumb brushed her cheekbone. She didn't care how absolutely _cheesy _that line was, her brain was fogged by the warmth of Quinn and the heat suddenly pooling between her legs.

"We shouldn't." Rachel whispered, pulling her lips away just so. Quinn laughed softly against Rachel's mouth.

"Everyone's asleep, and Brittany's not listening."

Rachel chanced a glance to the drivers seat, where Brittany's eyes were focused on the road in front of her.

"I want you Rachel." Quinn muttered, bringing her surprisingly soft and gentle lips to Rachel's once more. Rachel whimpered, her hand clasping forward to ball itself in the soft cotton of Quinn's t-shirt. "Do you want me?" Quinn mumbled against her lips, before flicking her tongue across them.

"Yes." Rachel whined, her breath heavy. She felt Quinn grinning as she opened her mouth and let Quinn's tongue massage against her own.

"Then let me-"

There was a loud boom that forced Rachel to rip her eyes open. She felt herself get flung into the harsh metal of the door she was resting against and groaned in pain and confusion. She was just about to kiss Quinn, in the back of the van, under the moon light, so why was she nestled between a door and Finn?

She looked around, eyes hazy and clouded, finding the scene before her completely different than where she had been only moments ago. The sky was a glowing orange, as a vibrant red sun dipped behind pinkish clouds. Everyone was awake, wearing various expressions of shock on their faces, with Quinn behind the wheel and definitely _not _next to Rachel.

"You okay?" Finn asked Rachel, his voice laced with worry. She nodded as she absently rubbed her shoulder.

"What happened?" Sam asked curiously from the opposite side of Finn.

"I'm not sure, I think I ran over something." Quinn said sternly, her hands gripping the wheel tightly. "I'm pulling over."

"Great." Kurt groaned from the seat in front of Rachel.

The van came to a gentle stop before Quinn killed the engine. She hopped out, followed by Puck and Sam. They walked in circles around the van, examining the undercarriage, muted voices carrying through the closed metal doors.

The remaining people where quiet, which Rachel was thankful for. Her brain couldn't be farther away from car troubles at the moment. The backs of her eyelids still burned with the fuzzy images of her almost sex dream, with Quinn. She was much more concerned with what the ache between her legs meant than the ache in her shoulder as she tried to recall every moment of the dream before it slipped away.

The drivers door flew open and Puck hobbled into the seat, and Quinn and Sam jumped back into the van.

"What was it?" Brittany asked as Quinn slid the door shut with a harsh slam.

"A pot hole. A really big one, too." Puck grunted, slamming his own door. "No damage though, surprisingly."

Kurt heaved a relieved sigh. "Thank Jesus."

"I thought you didn't believe in him." Brittany asked as the van sputtered back to life.

Kurt sighed, not bothering to address the blonde.

Rachel let her head fall back against the window and closed her eyes as the sun finally disappeared under the blanket of the night. Her mind was buzzing, wondering where the hell that dream even came from? That dream had felt so real, and had definitely worked her up if that uncomfortable spot of wetness in her underwear was anything to go off of. It was perfect, besides the cheesy words Quinn had uttered that Rachel couldn't remember (but knew the pink haired woman wouldn't say regardless).

She opened her eyes and let them fall on the blob of pink hair on the bench in front of her. She let her eyes rake over the soft curves of Quinn's neck, and gulped as Quinn turned her head, deep hazel eyes meeting her.

_No way_ Rachel thought to herself, averting her eyes as quickly as possible. Her heart was pulsing . _Santana wasn't right. Nope. No way._

* * *

"Welcome to Smith's American Bar and Grill, how many?" The disinterested hostess asked, barely looking up from her podium as she snapped a piece of gum.

Puck had tried to pull through a Burger King rest stop for dinner about 30 miles back, to the absolute horror of Rachel. She had screamed, pleaded, and begged, yelling about vegan friendly options and greases effect on pours. She had finally bargained that she would pay for the entire bill if they stopped at the next sit down, non-chain restaurant they found. Quinn had to bite back laughter when they pulled into said establishment, only to be met with a bright animated neon sign of Uncle Sam beheading a cow with an axe.

"9 please." Kurt said, as Rachel examined the take out menu posted on one of the wooden walls, trying to find some sort of vegan option.

"Do you have a reservation?" the hostess asked in monotone before snapping a rather large bubble in Kurt's face.

He winced. "Um, no." Kurt responded.

"Well, we don't take parties that big unless-" The girl's eyes widened as she looked at the group in front of her. She squeaked loudly and made a coughing noise as she swallowed her gum.

"You're Bowser Junior!" She yelled, her eyes trailing over Finn, Quinn, and Puck. "Oh my God is this real life?"

Puck pushed Kurt aside and stepped up to the podium, leaning onto it with a sly smile. "Yes ma'am. So what were you saying about that table?"

She stared up at Puck, jaw slack and color rapidly draining out of her face. "I love your band." She whispered.

"Thank you very much. Now...table?" Puck repeated, raising his eyebrows.

"Right! Right!" She yelled. "Sorry, come with me." She grabbed a large stack of menus before guiding the group through the restaurant. It wasn't a chain restaurant, but it was pretty standard in décor. Wood paneled walls were covered in various memorabilia, from football jerseys to broken guitars and newspaper clippings. They reached an open spot with two large tables that the hostess pushed together.

"Your waitress will be right with you." She murmured before placing the stack of menus on the table and walking away, occasionally throwing her head over her shoulder to gawk.

"Ah, the perks of being famous!" Finn said, plopping down at a seat.

"Don't get used to it Snorlax. You'll be riding the wave of my girl's perks for the rest of our time together." Santana scoffed, sitting as far away from Finn as possible. Finn frowned and muttered something under his breath.

Artie rolled up to the end of the table as the rest of the group took their spots. Quinn felt her heart beat faster and simultaneously groaned inwardly as Rachel sat down next to her, with a slight pout on her face.

"This is an unmitigated disaster. Even their salads are covered in meat!" Rachel huffed, crossing her arms.

"You're the one who said next restaurant sweet heart, I was just listening to your directions." Puck said grinning as he grabbed a menu from the middle of the table.

Rachel huffed in response. She leaned back in her seat, causing her thigh to bump against Quinn's. Quinn jumped at the unexpected contact, her back straightening out.

"You alright?" Sam asked from the other side of her. Quinn nodded and coughed, hoping that Rachel didn't notice her reaction.

"Yep, fine. Can you hand me a menu?" Quinn asked nervously. Sam smiled and handed her one. She sat back down in her seat and opened it up, trying to focus on the words in attempts to ignore Rachel's curious gaze. She obviously noticed.

"Get whatever you want guys." Rachel said. "Even though I'm probably not going to be able to eat anything here, I made this deal and will keep it up."

"Oh God, Rachel you're seriously the best." Sam said with a wide smile.

"I agree, we never get to eat real food on tour. We barely even get to eat." Brittany commented from next to Santana.

The group mumbled their agreements as everybody flipped through their menus.

"Are you sure you're not going to eat?" Quinn muttered, worried. "They have to have something without animal products in it."

"It's fine Quinn." Rachel said. "I'm used to it. I'll just order french fries and a salad and tell them to hold the mountain of bacon and ham."

Quinn frowned and looked at her, concern obviously etched on her face. "It's not fair that you're paying for everyone and you don't get to eat."

Rachel shrugged and flashed Quinn a small smile, the first one since they pulled into the parking lot. "Thank you for worrying about me, but really, it's okay. I don't know what I was expecting out here in the middle of nowhere."

Quinn's cheeks flushed as she mirrored Rachel's smile. She forced herself to look back at the menu, wondering when their roles reversed and she became the awkward one.

A waitress finally approached with a wide smile. "Hello everyone, my name's Julie and I'll be your waitress tonight. Can I start everyone with some drinks?"

They went around the table with their drink orders, as Julie scribbled them down. Quinn noticed the waitress's dark brown eyes travel over Rachel for a moment too long, a smirk spreading across her face, before she turned around.

"I'll be right back, guys." Julie said as she walked away. It was Quinn's turn to huff.

"What's the matter, Q?" Finn asked.

"Nothing." Quinn muttered, trying to get a grip on her irrational jealousy. The girl probably wasn't even checking out Rachel. She probably recognized her from her movies. Kurt eyed Quinn curiously before pulling out his phone.

Quinn sat in silence as the group talked, ignoring the dizzying feeling of Rachel's close proximity and trying to figure out when the hell she got in so deep. She had only known the girl for 3 days, and yet here she was, trying unsuccessfully to hold back her school girl crush.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out, glancing curiously at Kurt when his name flashed across the screen.

_You're doing a really bad job at this whole "I'm not into Rachel" thing._

Quinn scowled before typing out her response.

_Is it that obvious?_

Kurt's response was almost instant.

_Between your inability to tell her 'no', your chivalrous attempt to find something for her to eat, and the death glare you sent the waitress for ~looking~ at her, I'd say yes. _

Quinn growled before shoving her phone in her pocket, ignoring Rachel's curious eyes and Kurt's smug smile.

"What's got you so upset?" Rachel whispered, leaning closer to Quinn.

Quinn shivered at the feeling of Rachel's breath against her ear. "Kurt's an ass."

Rachel giggled softly. "I understand. If you haven't noticed, I myself have an ass-y manager."

Quinn smiled as Santana yelled "I HEARD THAT!"

Julie came back and placed everyone's drinks down. "Is everyone ready to order?"

Again, the group went around the table and placed their orders.

"I'll have an order of French Fries, and can you hold the meat on the 'Star Spangled Salad'?" Rachel asked.

Julie frowned at her. "Sorry, hun. Our salads are premade. You can pick the meat out."

Rachel frowned and sighed. "That's fine then."

"No it's not. No way." Quinn said. "Have your chef throw something together or pick it out, I don't care." Quinn demanded.

Julie looked at the pink haired girl with wide eyes, trying to formulate a polite response to Quinn's outburst.

"Quinn, no it's fine." Rachel stage whispered.

"Nope, it's not. You're paying for this. The least they can do is give you a salad without meat in it." Quinn stated pointedly.

Julie just nodded. "Yes...alright. I'll have the chef get rid of the meat." She said before running off, forgetting to take their menus.

Quinn fidgeted in her seat, completely aware of everyone's eyes on her. Artie, Sam, and Finn wore matching expressions of confusion. Puck, Santana, and Kurt looked smug as if they were privy to some secret information (which Quinn had to worry about since only Kurt and Brittany knew about her _feelings_). Brittany's eyes were bright and she was smiling, as if she just saw an adorably puppy, and Rachel looked touched.

"Thank you for standing up for me like that, Quinn." Rachel said.

"Whatever." Quinn grumbled, looking down.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket again, and she frowned when she saw Kurt's name light up her screen again.

_Absolutely terrible, Fabray._

* * *

Dinner was finished and paid for, and everyone was walking back out to the van, when Santana grabbed Rachel and dragged her to the bathroom.

"Oh my Liza, Santana! What is this all about!" Rachel yelled in surprise.

Santana rolled her eyes. "Are you going to admit you and Pinky are bumping uglies together yet?"

"What?" Rachel asked, half shocked.

"That little outburst was a bit much, don't you think?" Santana asked.

"Quinn was just being kind and making sure I got to eat properly, Santana, that's all." Rachel responded.

Santana sighed, wondering how the girl in front of her could be so blind. Rachel was talented, she had the voice and the acting skills. She was intelligent and beautiful, and despite the occasional (frequent) diva outburst, she was an excellent client to work for. They had been friends since high school, and had gone to NYU together. Santana _knew _this girl was the best, and that's why she went out of her way to help the career minded diva achieve her goals. When it came to Broadway, singing, and acting the girl was spot on. But outside of that when it came to social situations, Rachel could be pretty clueless. Santana figured it was due to the fact she had been focused on her career since she came out of the womb, to the point where she pushed most others away and was an outcast in high school. Her friendships were few, and her romantic relationships were far between. Rachel had never been good at noticing when someone was flirting with her, or had an interest in her when it came to something other than her talent. Santana loved her, she really did, but Rachel's cluelessness when it came to this stuff really got on her nerves, more so than her diva freakouts.

"Rachel," Santana groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Do you like Quinn?" Santana asked.

Rachel's face paled at the question, and her mouth flopped open and closed for a moment, in search of words. "I...I don't know Santana."

"Well," Santana started. "I'm pretty sure Quinn likes you."

Rachel laughed. "Okay, Santana. Sure."

Santana rolled her eyes. "This is just like that time with Blaine."

Blaine Anderson, Rachel's first boyfriend in college, who Santana had been screaming from the rooftops about how incredibly gay he was to Rachel's disbelief and displeasure, ended up coming out of the closet after 6 months of dating Rachel. Santana had to restrain herself from slapping Rachel across the face when the diva said she didn't see that one coming.

"This is nothing like Blaine!" Rachel huffed, stomping her foot against the wooden floor.

"Rachel, you really need to open your eyes." Santana said.

Rachel bit her lip in contemplation for a moment, before clearing her throat. "Okay, so I'm attracted to Quinn. But it's nothing, really. I don't think anything could ever happen between us. She's too...closed off and anti-everything. Besides, I've never been...with a girl...yet."

Santana laughed. "Rachel you're bi, that doesn't matter. You like Quinn, and I can guarantee she likes you. Do something about it."

Rachel frowned. "No, Santana. It's nothing especially on her front. Quinn and I have been bonding over our guitar lessons, and Sam said that she gets really protective of her friends."

Santana rolled her eyes. "Okay, Streisand, I give up. Whatever. Sit there and pine after Miss Bikini Kill for the rest of the month."

Rachel rolled her eyes before stomping away.

"Ay dios mio." Santana groaned, rolling her eyes. She went to follow the diva out before Brittany walked in.

"Is everything okay, San?" The blonde asked, smiling. "We're all ready to go."

Santana smiled back, feeling her frustration melt away at the sight of Brittany. "Yeah, everything is fine. I'm just trying to beat some sense into my client."

Brittany gasped. "That's mean! Why would you ever hurt her? I thought you guys were friends?"

"No, Britt. I mean I'm trying to help Rachel come to her senses about her personal life." Santana explained.

"What's going on?" Brittany asked.

"I'm pretty sure Rachel likes Quinn, but is too socially inept to do anything about it." Santana explained.

Brittany squealed and bounced on her heels. "Really!"

Santana nodded.

"That's perfect! Quinn likes Rachel too! But she won't do anything about it either!" Brittany explained.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Santana asked.

"No, I can't read minds. Lord Tubbington can though. One time we played the 'I'm thinking of' game and he got every answer right!"

Santana chuckled. "I think we should play cupid."

Brittany squealed again. "That's a great idea! You're a genius!"

Santana reached forward and grabbed Brittany's hand, interlacing their fingers. "Lets start plotting how we're going to do this."

Brittany nodded in agreement before leading Santana out of the restaurant.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **I'm so sorry that this has taken so long to update. This summer has been insanely busy for me, and it's caused quite a bit of writer's block. Excuses, excuses, I know. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and that it's been worth the wait.

All mistakes are mine.

* * *

After a week of touring it was safe to say that Rachel was completely overwhelmed by it. She knew this was different from what she was used to and that she would need some time to adjust, but this was a far cry from Broadway. There she would perform in the same, well maintained theater nightly, to a respectful audience that sat in their seats and listened. She would be able to go home, eat a healthy dinner from one of the take out places nearby, take a nice shower, and relax with a cup of tea and catch up with her shows on her DVR before hitting the hay. She'd wake up well rested at 6 am, work out, eat a well balanced breakfast, and be ready for press or rehearsals, depending on the time frame of the show. Then, she'd have a few hours off to run errands or spend time with loved ones before another well organized show.

_This_ was not that, at all. The clubs Bowser Jr. played at were more often than not falling apart and in horrible neighborhoods. The audience always seemed so _violent_. They would crowd surf, throw their fists around (Brittany and Sam told her it was called "hardcore dancing" though she would argue that real dancing was _nothing _like that) and climb on top of each other in blatant disregard for the people standing around them. While at first it was amusing, she had seen one too many bloodied bodies exit the pit for her taste.

She had only been able to shower _once_ over the past few days. Most of the backstage areas weren't equipped with them, and the ones that had showers were breeding grounds for bacteria. Despite finding sit down restaurants for dinner after the show, she was still consuming a lot of greasy fast food and it was making her _sick. _It gave her a new admiration for Morgan Spurlock, since she was still only on her first week and constantly felt sluggish.

They hadn't been to a hotel since the second night, and it was almost impossible for her to sleep in the old Volkswagen. The "Mystery Machine" as the band so lovingly called the teal hippie bus, was on it's last leg. It was hardly fit to be on the road, let alone pull a trailer and carry 9 grown adults. It constantly rattled and sputtered. The shocks were worn out completely, which Rachel gathered from the bruises that formed on the back of her thighs from ever speed bump and pot hole the thing ran over. The thing was completely and utterly uncomfortable.

Then, there was all of that lifting and manual labor. Most of the time she was at the merch table, but sometimes she would help set up or tear down. She wasn't out of shape by any means, at home she had a strict regime of Yoga and running, but that was not the same as carrying heavy boxes of merch and equipment.

She was hungry, sore, and tired, but she was also Rachel Berry. Where most people would give up, she soldiered on. She had perfect attendance all throughout her school years, despite run ins with the flu, broken bones, and a life threatening tonsillectomy (which was _not _an exaggeration, she was a singer after all!). She had walked down the halls of her high school with her head held high, even while coated in slushies or after facing a barrage of insults from the popular kids. She had preserved through countless failed auditions, without altering her physical appearance or giving up her morals despite the badgering of countless casting agents and show managers. She would make it through this tour, so help her Streisand.

"We have the day off tomorrow." Kurt announced to the group as they pulled up to their latest venue, a 5,000 seater club in the heart of New Orleans called "Swing Swang Swung."

Everyone cheered as Kurt rolled his eyes. "Settle down, we have two options. We can stay tonight and part of the day tomorrow here in New Orleans, or we can leave tonight and spend the day off tomorrow in Austin."

"Oh God, we have to stay here." Sam said. "We could hit up that old graveyard, or we could find some old voodoo witch doctor!"

"You know that you're a moron, right?" Santana guffawed, causing Sam to blush and look at his feet.

"I for one would like to reenact some of the more famous scenes from Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire. Blanche Dubois has always been a dream role of mine." Rachel explained, causing Artie and Quinn to snigger. She glanced over at them and frowned. "What?"

Quinn smiled at her, brightly. "Nothing, that's just...nothing. I vote we stay here." Quinn said, blushing under Rachel's gaze before turning to Kurt.

_That_ was another problem causing strife in Rachel's life. That specifically being Quinn.

Quinn was probably the most confusing person Rachel had ever met. She was guarded and sometimes hostile, other times aloof and spaced out, and on the rare occasion she was open and friendly. Every time Quinn would display some sort of kindness or warmth to Rachel she would turn around and regress back to guarded and aloof Quinn. Rachel found herself charmed by friendly Quinn, and yet she was completely intimidated by what she referred to as Bizarro Quinn. Even though Bizarro Quinn was more often than not who she had to deal with, there was no way Rachel could accept that that was the real Quinn. It was touch and go with Quinn, a grown up version of red light green light that had Rachel shaking in her spot, waiting eagerly for Quinn to shout out "GREEN LIGHT!"

And then there were the moments when Quinn's eyes would find her and linger, or when Quinn's cheeks would flush a rosy pink color a few shades off from her hair when she would catch Rachel looking at her. Like what had just transgressed between the two women.

It was all so infuriating.

"Rachel-" Kurt said, distracting her from her thoughts about Quinn.

"Yes?"

"Before you cast your vote, you should probably know that we'll be crashing on the floor of a friend's house tonight." Kurt explained, obviously nervous.

"What?" Rachel asked. "The...floor?"

Kurt nodded. "Mhm. Every know and then someone will offer their house for us to crash at when we're on tour. We take it because most of use would prefer sleeping on the floor or the couch then a moving van. There's a whole network of connections of people in the 'scene' who offer their houses to touring bands, but tonight we would be staying at Matt Rutherford, an old friend of ours."

Rachel nodded as she listened to Kurt's explanation. She shuddered at the thought of sleeping in some strangers house. But, if what Kurt was saying was correct, it was part of the experience she would need for her role. And she had her bulldog, Santana.

She cleared her throat. "Well, Kurt, that doesn't really sway me at all." She said brightly, trying to convey that she wasn't begrudgingly agreeing to this like everyone would have thought. It didn't matter if that was the case, because she was Rachel Berry, tough cookie and actress extraordinaire.

Kurt smiled. "Okay, so everyone, show of hands, who wants to stay tonight?"

Everyone in the van's, excluding Santana's, hands went up.

"Alright, lets get going then. I have to call Matt!" Kurt said. The doors went flying open and the band and crew started piling out of the van, eager to stretch their legs.

"Hold up!" Santana yelled. "Baby Face, Spinal Tap, Gold Star, you're all staying in the van. We need to talk."

Finn scowled before getting back in the van, it was safe to say that him and Santana detested each other. Puck shrugged before hopping in, and Quinn slid back in wordlessly before slamming the door shut behind her. Kurt slowly put his cell phone down and looked at Santana.

"I've talked to the powers at be. I've threatened, I've begged, I've bribed and I've bargained, but there was no getting out of it." Santana said dully.

"What a lovely introduction." Quinn huffed quietly. Santana shot a piercing glare at her before continuing.

"They want a PR showmance. Not even that really, they just want people to _talk._" Santana explained. Rachel nodded, recalling Santana mentioning something a few days ago about it.

"So what does that entail?" Kurt asked, raising an eyebrow over a crystalline blue eye.

"It means that Berry and one of the members of your little Motley Crue need to be seen out and about together. Photographed 'canoodling' and what have you. Seriously, one of you just needs to escort Rachel around the cities together. It doesn't have to be much at all. Just standing close to each other and a little hand holding will do." Santana said.

Rachel looked over the faces of the three musicians in front of her. Finn had a look on his face that meant that he was either thinking or incredibly constipated. Puck looked bored, his head lolled back and arm stretched up, playing with a patch of upholstery hanging off the ceiling. Quinn looked uncomfortable for some reason. It wasn't like she was the one that would be thrown into this.

"Why do we have to do this though?" Finn asked, confused.

Santana rolled her eyes, if anyone else had asked that question Santana would just answer the question. She groaned but explained. "Because it generates buzz, Frost Giant. It gets people to talk. You know that saying there's no such thing as bad press? That's entirely true. People will talk about Rachel hanging out with some wannabe Sid Vicious, which will then lead her to talk about the new film. Talk isn't cheap. In Hollywood, talk equals dollar signs. The worst movies in the world get made as long as people are talking about them, even if it's just some pointless speculation on who the lead actor is or is not fucking, while the good ones are doomed to forever sit on the back burner because no one gives a shit about a good plot when pretty people might be hooking up."

"That's-" Finn started, but was interrupted by a disgusted Quinn.

"God awful." Quinn sneered, clearly in contempt with how the entertainment industry in Hollywood worked. Being in a pop punk band on an indie label made a lot less money, but it was definitely more freeing.

"It's how the biz works, Tank Girl." Santana said with a shrug. "Anyway which one of you wants to man up? Take one for the team?"

Rachel glared at Santana. "Like spending time with me is such a sacrifice."

Santana ignored her and looked at the four other occupants of the car.

"Well, I guess it comes down to who is the most comfortable with this. Finn, am I correct in assuming that you don't want to do this at all?" Kurt asked. Finn shook his head fiercely. "Alright, Puck, are you on board then?"

"Hold on a second, you didn't ask Pinkie." Santana interjected before Puck could respond.

"What?" Kurt and Rachel simultaneously. Rachel wasn't sure if she heard what Santana had just said. It sounded like-

"I said you didn't ask Quinn if she wanted to do it. She's in the band, too." Santana said with a shrug.

Rachel glanced over at Quinn, whose face was now beet red. "Santana, what the hell are you talking about? I thought the studio said it would be an inopportune time for me to come out?"

"You're gay?" Finn asked incredulously. Santana ignored him.

"You wouldn't be dating her. You wouldn't be confirming anything. You'd be seen together, you'd be holding hands and talking closely. But the studio thinks it would make you look more bad ass. Like a wild streak. It's talk, and you kind of need cred." Santana explained. She was obviously getting sick of this conversation.

Rachel looked over at Quinn again. Quinn looked flabbergasted, an emotion Rachel never thought she would see cross the girls face. Her pink lips were slightly parted, and both eyebrows were arched over green and gold flecked eyes.

"It's up to you though, Gold Star. If you don't want to have the rumors about that floating around, then that's fine too. Though I think it would put your foot in the door for when you were ready to actually come out." Santana said.

Rachel nodded, her eyes still on Quinn.

"Well Joan Jett? What's going on in that chemically dyed brain of yours?" Santana asked.

Quinn's mouth flopped open and closed in response, her eyes darting between Rachel, Santana, and Kurt.

"I...I don't...you're gay?" Quinn stammered, eyes finally fixing on Rachel.

Rachel nodded. "I um, well I don't like labels. But I guess you would call it bisexual." Rachel admitted.

Puck whistled and grinned, nudging Quinn with his elbow and Finn just shrugged. Rachel wasn't too sure why Kurt looked as pleased as punch, but she set it aside.

Quinn nodded, her expression dropping from shocked back to it's normal mask of cool indifference. "I don't know." She stated. "I don't know if I want that...that invasion of privacy. Or to be used. Or...I don't know. Puck what are you thinking?"

Puck shrugged. "I could care less."

"Couldn't." Quinn corrected. He scoffed.

"Whatever. I'll do it, you know I'll do it, but it's up to you two." Puck said.

The lip that was caught in between Quinn's teeth and the swirling of gold and rust flecks behind her green eyes were the only signs that she was having some kind of trouble. It made Rachel nervous.

She wanted Quinn to say yes, of course. Quinn was attractive, and interesting, and she absolutely loved their guitar lessons despite the other woman's fluctuating moods. She just liked being near Quinn, no matter how dizzy it made her. It was frustrating and hard, but Quinn made her heart flutter whenever their eyes met or their skin brushed, or when she did something chivalrous like stand up for her dietary needs at a steakhouse.

Santana coughed, interrupting Quinn's train of thought. "We need an answer."

Quinn shook her head. "No, no, I can't do it. I just...there's so much wrong with that. I'm sorry Puck." Quinn said, casting her friend an apologetic glance.

He shrugged. "As I said, it don't matter to me. I get to spend time with Zombie Girl over here." He smiled and looked at Rachel.

Rachel tried to smile back at him, but her chest ached with disappointment.

Santana looked like she was about to argue, but nodded instead. "Alright, it's settled. What's the schedule for today?" She asked, looking over at Kurt.

"Well, they're on at 8. They have an interview and acoustic performance at 4 and a meet and greet at 6. Oh, and Quinn and Rachel have their guitar lesson at some point during this."

"Great. Why don't you two walk around the city. Go get coffee or go to a restaurant. There won't be any paps around but people are going to be bound recognize you. Hopefully we can get some free press off the twtterazzi." Santana instructed Puck and Rachel.

Quinn, Finn, and Kurt hopped out of the van, Quinn practically running into the venue. Santana followed and Puck smiled.

"Ready?" He asked, offering a hand to Rachel to help her out of the vehicle and on to the New Orleans sidewalk.

No. No Rachel wasn't ready. She wasn't ready to put on a face and convince the world that she was dating someone she had no feelings for. Nor was she ready to admit that her feelings might have been slightly yet unreasonably hurt by the woman who had just dashed away from her as if she were the plague. She definitely wasn't ready to pretend like any of this was okay, or with the fact that she had no say in this whatsoever.

So instead, she put on her best show smile. "Let's get em'!" She exclaimed.

* * *

Quinn leaned against the sound booth with a huge scowl on her face, kicking at an old bottle cap with the toe of her converse as she watched Sam and Artie mic the opening band's amps. Her skull felt like it was about to explode, and her stomach was in knots, and her heart felt sick. She was completely pissed at herself.

Rachel was bi. Rachel liked girls. Rachel liked girls and was now out pretending to date her best friend and band mate Puck, and she let that all happen. She stepped aside and let that happen.

How the fuck did that even happen?

Rachel Berry in a weeks time had somehow tore through her heart and her mind, leaving her emotions and feelings and all that stuff a total wreck. Everything she tried to do to protect herself from the storm front that was the tiny actress seemed to be absolutely futile, and it was making her head spin.

She was trying to be distant, but she just couldn't. Hurricane Rachel had a way of ripping away all of the boards nailed up across her chest in attempts to keep the windows in tact without even fucking trying. She'd be able to step back from it for a while, act tough or like she didn't care, and then they'd be sitting alone in a dressing room or in the van with guitars in hand, and Quinn would just let go. She'd open up to Rachel so easily, like it was fucking nothing. It was scary, letting the other girl in, knowing what she had the potential to do to Quinn without even trying. That's why she hadn't given up playing defense.

It was getting hard though. Quinn felt like her head was spinning constantly, Linda Blair style. She was sure Rachel was getting fed up with her bullshit, and frankly she was too.

She just wanted...something more. She knew she wanted something more based off 7 days. Seven. There were people that went their entire lives knowing someone without ever realizing that they wanted something more from that other person, and Quinn figured it out in 7.

And now what?

When Santana had brought up the showmance, Quinn felt her heart freeze. She'd get the chance to cozy up to Rachel. To hold her hand and be affectionate with the girl, in public. But it would have all been fake. Rachel would have acted back, but it would have been just that. Acting. All of that stuff would have just come back to bite Quinn in the ass. Each moment would be a constant reminder that it wasn't real, or Quinn would have gotten carried away, done something stupid, and made a fool out of herself. There was no way around the inevitable disaster. She tried to tell herself that it was more about her morals, of not being some public puppet and not playing the same games that all of those closeted actors that ended up accosting flight attendants in airline bathrooms did.

Because really, it's not like Quinn didn't take risks. Her entire life had been about taking risks. Coming out to her parents was a risk, getting her first tattoo from Puck on his kitchen table was a risk, going after _"She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" _was a risk. There was a motion blur of memories, some vivid and some foggy, that were all the direct effect of taking risks. All of the time, money, blood, sweat and tears invested in this band was a risk, and Quinn knows that Bowser Jr. might be over tomorrow. Better bands have ended in more sudden ways. Quinn Fabray was totally a risk taker, but she was also a fast learner. And her good old friend _"She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named"_ taught her that not all risks were worth taking. The only good thing that had come out of _that _was an album's worth of songs.

She was doing the right thing. She was protecting her still sensitive heart. She wasn't going to contribute to the PR machine and the celebrity-paparazzi-public orgy that she so detested with every fiber of her being. She'd let Puck walk around town holding Rachel's hand, and she'd stand off on the sidelines and watch it happen, showing Rachel how to play different scales in the process. And no, she wouldn't admit to herself how much that thought hurt either.

If Rachel was a hurricane, Quinn was the weather girl that got stuck in the rain in the hail, trying not to get blown away as she reported live on the scene.

"I can hear those gears turning in there Fabray." Artie said, wheeling up to the sound booth behind Quinn.

Quinn chuckled humorlessly and looked to her friend, who was settling behind the sound board. The board was a bit too high for him to see from his chair, and he frowned.

"Fuck." He groaned.

"I'll go get something to boost you up." Quinn offered, jumping at the chance to walk away in order to be alone with her thoughts.

"No, you're not getting out of this one. I'll text Sam to get me something. Spill it." Artie demanded, looking up at Quinn seriously.

"There is nothing too spill." Quinn deadpanned, crossing her arms across her chest.

"What did Santana want to talk to you guys about?" Artie asked.

Quinn groaned inwardly. She didn't want to have to talk about Rachel with another person. Too many people were privy to her feelings. Kurt and Brittany already knew, and she wasn't sure but she wouldn't be surprised if Santana had figured it out. Plus, she still hadn't talked to Puck about that strange look he gave her at the restaurant.

The Rachel situation was spiraling out of control, tail spinning down to crash and burn already. _And there were still 3 weeks to go._

"Puck and Rachel are going to be in a PR relationship." Quinn explained. Artie nodded.

"Happens with famous people. Why so torn up about it?" He asked seriously.

Quinn scoffed and kicked at the bottle cap, this time sending it flying out of the booth. "It's not..I'm not _torn up _about it." She lied. "I can't stand what this is becoming. It's turning into a...a media circus, and it's all because of some girl that fucked a zombie that can't meet the height requirement for most roller coasters." Quinn scoffed.

_Anger._ Now anger Quinn Fabray could do. Deflecting and anger, it was like the Fabray Family mission statement.

Artie nodded, but frowned. "What were you expecting when you signed on for this?" He asked curiously. Quinn caught the sarcasm and huffed.

"I don't know." That was the truth. She really didn't. When Kurt had said a movie following the life of a young woman in the punk scene, who had to deal with abusive parents, growing up, broken hearts, drug addictions, and the sexism that often comes with being a part of this scene, Quinn had thought it was a fantastic idea at first.

It definitely wasn't worth this. Quinn couldn't even understand why Rachel was cast in the lead part anyway. She could never see Rachel being well...her.

"Quinn, there is something else going on." Artie stated calmly. "I may not know you as well as Brittany or Puck or Sam, but we're still friends, and we spend a lot of time together in closed quarters. I know you're hurting, and I know all of your Fabray games to pussy foot around it."

Quinn looked into Artie's gray eyes and sighed. "It's not something that I can bring myself to admit yet Artie. It's...it's complicated."

Artie nodded. "Okay, well when you're ready. I'm here for you, you know that."

Quinn shot him a smile. Artie was a good friend despite their lack of history. Sam had brought him around about a year and a half ago because he was "A total fucking Jedi with lights" and she had argued about not wanting to have some dude in a wheelchair bogging them down. She fully admits that she was a total bitch about it, and that she was wrong. Artie was a godsend.

"Thanks Artie."

"No problem Fabro." Artie grinned.

* * *

"What are you doing, Santana?" Kurt asked accusingly, approaching the woman who had just hung up her cellphone.

"I'm about to have a cigarette. Want one?" Santana asked, offering the pack to Kurt with a sickly sweet smile. He made a face and turned his nose away.

"That is such a disgusting habit. Especially for a woman." Kurt said.

"And that's sexist." Santana responded with a nod, lighting her cigarette up.

"I'm going to ask again. What. Are. You. Doing?"

Santana frowned and let out a puff of smoke. "What do you mean?" She asked seriously, not wanting to deal with Kurt's inquisition.

"There is no way that those huge movie executives whose paychecks are signed by Fox would have been okay with Rachel and Quinn running around the country holding hands and acting cute together. What are you up to Lopez?" Kurt asked. "Are you trying to sabotage your own client?"

Santana laughed, coughing a bit on the smoke that had been freshly trapped in her lungs. "You're hysterical, Hummel. Really. If Bowser Jr. tanks call me up. I've never managed a comedian before but there's always time for firsts."

Kurt actually growled and stomped his foot. "Don't mess with me Lopez! What are you playing at?"

Santana cackled again. "I'm not up to anything. Everything I told you about the whole "cred" thing was true."

Kurt narrowed his eyes. "How?"

Santana shrugged. "I have my ways."

Kurt was about to respond with a scathing retort, when Brittany bounced up behind Santana and hugged her waist.

"San! How's Operation Get-Rachel-And-Quinn-Into-A-Showmance-To-Make-Them-Realize-They're-Soulmates coming?"

Santana dropped her cigarette to the ground and turned around, ignoring Kurt's shocked expression. She hugged Brittany back. "It failed miserably. Q refused so Puck's doing it." Santana explained to the cuddly blonde in her arms.

Brittany frowned. "I liked Operation Grackiastemtertits. It was fun to pronounce."

"I knew you were up to something!" Kurt exclaimed victoriously.

Santana turned around, keeping an arm around Brittany's waist. "I'm always up to something. Though this one isn't as evil as they normally are."

"So...you know about Quinn?" Kurt asked, coming down from his rightness and processing what Brittany said.

Santana nodded. "She's got a lady boner for the dwarf with the golden vocal cords."

"And Rachel likes her too! But Rachel's too...whats the thing you said?" Brittany asked, looking at Santana.

Santana smiled. "Caught up in herself."

"Yeah. She's too caught up in herself to realize that Quinn's totally into her. And you know how Quinn gets, with all the depression and walls she builds up with anything that makes her vulnerable like that. So we're trying to play Cupid!" Brittany explained with a bright smile.

Kurt smiled back. "That's quite the plan. I don't know about Rachel, but Quinn is a bull headed idiot when it comes to this stuff. She's too stubborn to see what's in front of her. Something about the horns blocking her vision." He explained.

Brittany nodded and Santana laughed. "So I take it you want to help?"

"Of course!" Kurt exclaimed. "Oh it'll be so romantic. Just like in those comedies. So what's the backup plan?" Kurt asked.

Santana looked at Brittany and Brittany shrugged. "We don't have one yet. But we should probably try to come up with something before Quinn moves from her _'I'm depressed because I'm interested in someone that I'm making myself think I can't have'_ phase to her _'I have feelings for you but I'm doing that stubborn thing I do so to get over it I'll pretend to hate you'_ phase."

Kurt nodded. "Those both sound like Fall Out Boy song titles. But okay. I'm totally in."

* * *

**A/N 2: **So things are starting to get interesting...at least I hope. Anyway here's were I beg for reviews. Thanks for reading!


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **Ah, you guys are all fantastic. Thank you for all the wonderful words and continuing to read this story.

* * *

"So..." Puck said awkwardly, running a hand through his mohawk. "What are we supposed to do?"

Rachel looked around the coffee shop they had entered. It was fairly empty, with only one person behind the counter and a few people sitting around tables reading or writing.

"Just act normal. Like Santana said, we're not actually doing anything." Rachel explained. Puck nodded and they both walked up to the counter and ordered. Rachel shot Puck an angry glare when he handed over $10 to the barista.

"What?" Puck asked innocently.

"You shouldn't have to pay for me. This isn't...like that. I'm not like that. And I'm not trying to be rude but out of the two of us I'm the one who is more financially stable." Rachel explained, feeling slightly guilty that the broke musician spent money on her as they moved to the side to wait for their orders.

Puck shrugged. "You get dinner then." He suggested nonchalantly. Rachel shook her head but smiled.

They received their order and moved to sit at a table that was in a well lit and visible area in attempts to draw attention to themselves.

"So have you done anything like this before?" Puck asked, sipping at his frozen hot chocolate.

Rachel shook her head. "No, I've never done this. Of course people have speculated about relationships with my costars, but I've never purposefully tried to perpetrate those rumors in order to gain buzz."

"You could have just said no." Puck said. Rachel scowled but noticed Puck's playful smile and smiled back.

This was the first time they had really spent any time together. Actually this was the first time Rachel had really spent any time with any of them one on one besides Quinn and Brittany. Puck seemed like a good guy. When he was around everyone he had a crude sense of humor and seemed to let his testosterone control his decision making, but one on one he was subdued and kind. He was handsome too, Rachel had to admit, and a gentleman too.

"Why do they call you Puck? Do you like hockey?" Rachel asked curiously, sipping at her green tea.

"My full name is Noah Puckerman. It kind of just happened. I've never actually touched a puck in my life."

Rachel nodded and sipped at her coffee again. She scanned over the shop to see if anyone was looking. She couldn't tell if she was relieved that people were minding their own business, or disappointed that they were failing their mission.

"So how did you start playing bass?" Rachel asked. They were shallow first date questions, but Rachel couldn't really think of anything to talk about and couldn't stand lulls in conversation.

Puck shrugged. "I started playing guitar. When we formed the band we couldn't find a bassist for the life of us, and Quinn was the better guitarist, so I stepped up to the plate."

Rachel smiled. Puck always was the one stepping up to the plate for the band. It was a quality that Rachel admired.

"How did you guys start?" Rachel asked.

"It was a stupid bet that Finn made against some kid to win the talent show back in our junior year of high school. Finn got the idea to play with a band, and somehow he roped Quinn and I into doing it with him." Puck answered. "We won, and it kinda turned into a full time thing."

These were the kind of questions that Rachel couldn't bring herself to ask Quinn. They were just so mundane compared to all of the other things Rachel could be asking the guitarist. Most of the time Rachel just wanted to know what Quinn was thinking, to get into the woman's head space. But the stuff she was asking Puck now were things she genuinely did want to know about the band.

"Can I ask you a question?" Puck asked.

Rachel nodded. "Of course. I'm sorry that this has turned into sort of a rapid fire Q and A."

Puck smiled. "Nah it's alright. We barely know each other, we better start learning some stuff about each other if this is going to work. But uh...anyway...what was it like boning a zombie?"

Rachel choked on her drink and spluttered her tea all over the table. That was the last thing she had expected to fall from Puck's mouth, and she found it hilarious.

"Oh jeez, I'm sorry!" She exclaimed, heaving with laughter. Puck laughed too, placing some napkins on the spilled liquid. Once she had cleaned up the mess and felt herself calm down she took a deep breath to settle herself.

"The scene in question was horribly awkward to film. Tyler, my costar who played said zombie, was in full body make up that included heavy layers of foam latex prosthetics and this disgusting smelling jello like substance that was supposed to emulate the blood and guts. And of course, I was pretty much nude save for the skin toned bra and underwear I was wearing . His make up kept rubbing all over me and it was _awful. _The takes themselves didn't take long, but it would be an hour in between takes to fix his makeup." Rachel explained with a laugh. "It took an entire day to film, and the scene itself was only about 30 seconds. Totally not worth it."

Puck laughed. "I'm sorry to ask. It's just...that was so bizarre." He shook his head and grinned.

"That's what the director was going for. Gosh, I can't believe I did that movie." Rachel sighed, putting her face in her hands but grinning.

"Hey actors have done a lot worse to break in to the biz." Puck reassured her. "At least it wasn't straight up porn."

Rachel laughed. "At least there is that."

"Um, excuse me?" A timid voice interrupted their conversation. Rachel and Puck turned their head to the intruder. It was a nervous looking girl, about 18 years old with crystal blue eyes widened in shock.

"Hello." Rachel said politely. "What can we help you with?"

"I just...wow you're Rachel Berry." The girl gushed. "I'm such a huge fan. I saw Cabaret 3 times on Broadway. You were absolutely fantastic!"

Rachel smiled at the girl. "Thank you very much! It's always so nice to meet fans, especially ones that recognize my superior stage skills."

Puck snorted loudly at Rachel's egotistical comment, but the girl in front of her didn't seem phased. She just nodded in agreement and beamed.

"Can I get a picture with you?" She asked, pulling her phone out of her pocket.

Rachel nodded and agreed. The girl handed her phone to Puck and the Rachel stood up so they could pose together. Once Puck handed the girl her phone she squealed excitedly.

"Thank you so much Rachel!" She said before practically skipping out of the coffee shop, not paying attention to were she was going because her nose was buried in the phone.

Rachel tried to sit back down, but the rest of the occupants of the coffee shop were crowded around the table in sudden realization that a celebrity was in their midst. There were only about 5 people waiting for their chance to take a picture, including the baristas, but she felt relieved. Hopefully this would be enough for Santana for today and they could go back to the venue after this.

After the last person scuttled away, happy with their photo, Puck smiled and put an arm around Rachel's shoulder.

"Mission accomplished?" He asked. Rachel nodded and leaned into Puck. This was enough to cause speculation for the people that were here and still looking.

"Cool, let's go back then." Puck said with a grin and led them out of the shop.

* * *

"Quinn!" Brittany yelled, quick footsteps falling on the concrete floor of the concert hall to catch up to the guitarist who was heading for the shower. The first usable one she had encountered in days.

Quinn took a deep breath to compose herself. She was tired, and frustrated, and just wanted to be left alone for a while to steel herself up for her guitar lesson later. But this was Brittany, and no matter how badly she wanted to snap and storm off she couldn't bring herself to be mean to Brittany.

"Hey Brit." She said quietly, turning around and offering a small tight lipped smile.

Brittany stopped in front of her and looked at her sympathetically. "Santana told me that you didn't want to be Rachel's fake girlfriend."

Quinn huffed and rubbed the back of her neck. "Yeah Brit, I didn't want to be Rachel's fake girlfriend."

"Why though?" Brittany asked with a pout. "It was a perfect chance to go for it."

Quinn closed her eyes. "Because B, it would have been fake. I don't want that, and I definitely don't want to be used to increase ticket sales for some crappy movie that hasn't even been made yet."

Brittany stepped closer to Quinn, placing a hand on Quinn's shoulder. "Don't do that Quinn." Brittany chastised quietly.

Quinn opened her eyes, meeting Brittany concerned blue ones. "Do what?" Quinn asked.

"Don't close off and try to distance yourself. I know you Quinn." Brittany said, squeezing Quinn's shoulder firmly.

"Everyone knows me." Quinn groaned, sick of her friends using that excuse to try to meddle with her feelings.

Brittany frowned and removed her hand. "Quinn, I just want you to realize that it's not hopeless. You might not believe me when I say Rachel's open for it, but she is into lady loving. All that 'it can never happen because she's straight' stuff is a moot point now."

Quinn sighed. "Well, now it really doesn't matter. She's dating Puck." She groaned. It was a lame excuse, and not true. She knew it wasn't true.

"Quinn!" Brittany yelled in exasperation. "She's not, it's fake! That's why you're not doing it. Stop running this in circles and making excuses. And whatever you do don't start being mean to Rachel."

Quinn furrowed her eyebrows and scowled. "What makes you think that I'll-"

"We both know that you do that whole turning love into hate thing. Everyone does that but like, not like you. They talk shit about their exes just to make it hurt less. But you, Quinn I think that if you were a superhero that would probably be your power." Brittany explained. "And actually, that would probably make you a super villain." She amended.

Quinn rolled her eyes, but had to admit Brittany was right. She probably was going to start being awful to Rachel, but she wouldn't have been privy as to why or that she was really even doing it. She hated how empathetic Brittany could be. That would probably be her super power.

"Quinn, I swear, if I find out that you've done anything mean to Rachel I'll do something." Brittany threatened.

Quinn chuckled. Brittany couldn't hurt a fly, and she couldn't picture her actually coming after her. "Okay Brit."

"I'm serious. I'll tell Santana. And Santana might act all rude and everything, but she really cares about Rachel. She'll come after you."

Quinn shook her head, not doubting it. Rachel was to Santana as Brittany was to her. "Okay Brit. I won't make any promises, but I'll try to do that whole thinking before I speak thing."

"Good." Brittany said with a smile and a nod before bounding off. Quinn turned back around, feeling even more annoyed than she had before. Apparently she had no say in how she dealt with this. She wanted to scream out, but the show was still a few hours away. She walked down to the dressing room, deciding to write out her frustrations instead.

* * *

"Hey." Rachel said nervously, tugging her lip between her teeth. She set Sam's guitar case against the wall of the dressing room and stepped forward.

Quinn was sitting on the couch, writing something down in a notebook. Pink hair clung to a perfectly chiseled face and was slicked back and dripping wet, her skin glowing and soft with her freshly showered look. Rachel swallowed as she stared at the woman intently, she could make out water droplets sliding down creamy white skin and bright tattoos. The sight of Quinn wet and clean and lost in her writing was unsettling, in that way that made her heart cave in and the butterflies in her stomach flap their wings so hard that it flipped over.

Quinn looked up from her notebook and met Rachel's gaze. "Hey." She said, her voice deep and sultry. Rachel knew that Quinn was attractive, and her mysteriousness and flip flop personality was intriguing, but the Quinn sitting before her was dead sexy.

Quinn set her notebook on the coffee table in front of her and ran a hand through her wet locks. "There's a shower here, and it's actually kind of decent if you want to use it." Quinn stated coolly.

Rachel shook her head. "Maybe later. But um, could we do it? Our lesson...I mean." Rachel stammered nervously.

Quinn shrugged. "Sure. My guitar is in the trailer still, I'll be right back." She stood up and stretched, then threw a black zip up sweatshirt on with "My Chemical Romance" emblazoned across the chest, throwing the hood up over her wet hair. Rachel watched intently as Quinn sauntered out of the room, her eyes lingering a little bit too long on Quinn's ass. In her defense, it was the definition of _perfect._

She shook herself out of her daze and picked up the guitar, moving to sit on the couch Quinn had just abandoned. This dressing room was quite nice compared to the other ones she had been it. The walls were wood paneling, and various black and white photographs of musicians performing at the club were hung on the walls. Musicians that ranged from Count Basie, to Billie Holiday, to more modern highly defined pictures of the bands the club tended to book now like New Found Glory and Alkaline Trio. Bands she wouldn't have known (and if she was being honest, she was starting to enjoy them) if it weren't for her research and the countless hours driving cross country blasting Sam's iPod. The furniture was all a deep wine color, and despite the television and fridge, the room maintained that old-timey atmosphere from when it was originally a jazz club.

Rachel sat and played with her hands, anxious for Quinn to return. Her eyes scanned over the room and fell down to the notebook Quinn was writing in just a moment ago. She felt her breath catch as her hands ached to pick it up and read it. She chastised herself for considering it, that notebook was private and Rachel wasn't about to invade the woman's privacy.

Who was she kidding, she had already picked it up.

She thumbed through the pages. There were some that were long entries, huge paragraphs that sprawled on for pages. Then there were shorter entries, written out in stanzas, obviously lyrics. There were some quick doodles, some of the little dinosaur with the bat that was printed on all over the band's t-shirts, and some drawings of long scratchy monsters in the same style of the ones that were tattooed up and down Quinn's arms.

Her eyes landed on the last page that contained any writing. It was only half filled, most of the words scribbled away.

_Pulled down by New York lights, One airport away from Hollywood nights, All things considered I don't have a chance in Hell, but the girl in the camera lens that has me spewing things I swore to never tell._

"Do you like it?" Quinn's low voice called out, breaking Rachel away from the notebook. She threw it back on the coffee table and held her hands up as if the thing actually burned her. She flushed red and looked down at her shoes, not able to meet Quinn's eyes.

"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have read that. That was private." Rachel gushed, apologizing profusely. She was so embarrassed, caught red handed. She closed her eyes tightly and braced herself for Quinn's anger, too ashamed to look the woman in the eye.

Quinn was quiet for a moment, and Rachel wasn't sure what was happening. Oh God, maybe Quinn was going to pull a knife on her. The only sound in the room was the sound of their breathing intermingling. Rachel was reminded of all the times back in high school were she'd see a jock carrying a Big Gulp cup and brace herself for the incoming slushy bath.

Quinn finally released a deflating sigh, and flopped down on the couch at the opposite end of Rachel. "It's not like people wouldn't have end up hearing it anyway."

Rachel cautiously opened her eyes to see Quinn leaning forward on the couch, her head buried in her hands.

"I really am sorry Quinn." Rachel said, her tone regretful and sincere.

Quinn shook her head and chuckled. "Save it. It's whatever."

Rachel nodded and looked at the girl, wishing she never picked up the book. Quinn finally picked her head up and looked at Rachel. Her eyes were a muddy hazel, yet still so extraordinary. The girl was completely vulnerable. "Do you think we could skip out on the lesson for today though?" She asked, her tone small.

Rachel nodded. "Yeah, yeah that sounds fine. I'll just go take a shower then." She said, standing up and making to leave.

She reached out for the door, but before she could open it, her curiosity (or perhaps her impulsiveness) got the better of her.

"What was that about? Those last two lines?" Rachel asked, looking at Quinn.

Quinn closed her eyes and lied back across the couch. "You're have no idea how frustrating you are, do you?" She asked quietly, shaking her head gently. Rachel wasn't sure if she was actually meant to hear it. "You're so luck Brittany got to me first."

Rachel wasn't sure what that meant, and didn't have a response, so she turned around and left. The door slamming closed behind her.

* * *

"Quinn, are you oka-"

"Shut the fuck up Finn." Quinn growled, storming off the stage. The show had been an absolute wreck. Quinn kept messing up her parts and forgetting the lyrics. She could see the worried faces of her band mates as the set continued on, grimacing with each mistake in a way that she was sure Rachel would chastise them for if she were anywhere near them. Luckily, the crowd was lost in the moment, pumped up off the adrenaline from the opening bands.

On a list of bad days this definitely wasn't the worst, but that didn't mean it hadn't been horrible. Quinn was absolutely frazzled. First the PR bullshit, then her talk with Brittany, then Rachel finding the lyrics she wrote that were so blatantly about her. And the girl had the balls to turn around and ask what they were about. Like they'd _be_ about anything _other_ than the singer.

Sam rushed up to her and took her guitar, sensing the anger from far away.

"It was-"

"Don't." Quinn interrupted the blond, before he could make some stupid comment complimenting a horrible performance. She wasn't in the mood for generous comments.

Sam looked hurt, but Quinn couldn't bring herself to feel guilty for being a bitch to her friend. She packed her guitars away and carried them out to the trailer, throwing them in almost haphazardly.

"You're going to break something." Puck scolded.

"I swear to God if you start with me Puckerman..." Quinn started, leaving the sentence to hang in the air. She always found that her threats worked better when she let the other person use their imagination.

"What's got you messed up Fabray." Puck asked gently, putting his guitars into the trailer and wrapping an arm around Quinn. "Talk to Uncle Puck."

Quinn felt her blood boil with anger and jealousy. It was irrational of course, she was the one who pretty much forced Puck into being Rachel's arm candy, and it wasn't even real anyway. Despite that, she couldn't help but think that he was the cause of the problem at hand.

"I am so not in the mood Puck." She spit out, slinking away from Puck.

"What did I do?" Puck asked, detecting the hostility aimed at him specifically.

"Nothing. You didn't do anything!" Quinn yelled, trying to walk away. It was the truth after all. A warm hand pressed her shoulder, stopping her in place.

"If this is about Rachel you need to know I'm not stepping in on your girl." Puck explained.

Quinn scoffed but looked at Puck curiously. So he figured it out too. Was she really that obvious?

She deflected and folded her arms across her chest. "What the fuck is wrong with everyone?"

Puck turned her around. "No, it's what the fuck is wrong with you? You can tell me or not, but don't act like a fucking bitch to me or the guys when they don't deserve it. We're not your punching bags!"

Quinn stared up at him with a dangerous glare in her eyes, one that she adapted whenever shit was about to go down. Puck could take the eyebrows and the biting remarks, but this was the look that actually scared him. It was the look she got before she blew.

But, by some twist of fate, Kurt and Santana walked out of the venue, saving Puck from the storm. It was like everyone, including the forces of the universe, were out to fuck with her.

"So good news, your little outing with Berry today caused a mini freak out. People were tweeting about her being on a date with some handsome dude with a mohawk. Someone said you were getting awfully cozy in that coffee shop." Santana said proudly.

Quinn felt something inside her burst, because really, what the fuck? _Awfully cozy? _Bullshit Puck didn't do anything.

"Fuck this." Quinn muttered and jumped into the van, sprawling across the back seat. Everyone else could deal with the equipment. Finn and Puck could handle the fans on their own. _They _didn't deserve to deal with her when she was like this, and all of the tweets and stuff complaining about how rude she was for not coming out after the show were better than the tweets complaining about how awful she was to some undeserving fan. She just couldn't bring herself to fucking care anymore. As soon as everyone was done she was going to Matt's house and crashing. She just couldn't deal with this day anymore.

She closed her eyes as the muffled sounds of everyone loading their equipment and talking permeated the van slowly faded at the edges until everything was quiet and dark.

When she opened her eyes again she was leaned up against Brittany, who was gently shaking her. How the hell did she manage to fall asleep?"

"We're at Matt's Q. But we're all going to go out to dinner first, if you're feeling up to it." Brittany said.

Quinn groaned and stretched out. "No, I'm not...I'm just going to stay here." Quinn explained as everyone filed out of the van and marched up to the door to the large two story house. Brittany frowned but nodded knowingly as Quinn exited the van.

"Hey Quinn, whats going on girl!" Matt exclaimed loudly when she entered the house. He bounded up to her and wrapped her in a tight hug which she weakly returned. "I haven't seen you in forever."

"Hey Matt. Nothing much. But if you don't mind can we catch up later. I need to tuck in for the night. I'm dead on my feet." Quinn said into Matt's chest. He released his hold on her with a frown.

"Okay Q. You know your way around. Make yourself comfortable. Mi casa is tu casa." Matt said. She nodded and smiled at him gratefully before heading into the living room. All of the furniture was pressed to the walls, and the floor was a maze of sleeping bags and air mattresses. She plopped down on one and closed her eyes, thankful to finally be ending the day.


	13. Chapter 13

"What did you _do?!_" Santana asked, raising her eyebrows as she watched Quinn storm through Matt Rutherford's house.

Rachel frowned. "Nothing!" She insisted, despite the pang of guilt in her chest.

"No really Little One," Santana asked, pulling Rachel to the side of the dimly lit kitchen. Rachel gulped, Santana only used that nickname when it was time for some serious chastisement.

"I might have read some of her unfinished lyrics." Rachel admitted, guiltily. "But that can't be what this is about, right?" She asked, brow furrowed in concern.

Quinn had been a _terror_ all night. When she wasn't ignoring everyone, she was yelling at them. Except for Rachel of course, Quinn pointedly avoided her all night. There wasn't even a chance for the guitarist to ignore Rachel. Whenever the tiny brunette would appear in Quinn's line of vision, Quinn would run out of the room, turn back around, Rachel even saw her dodge into the bathroom.

It was concerning.

"It might be, people are touchy about that stuff. You wouldn't let _anyone _hear your final for your Music Theory class , even though peer review was _mandatory_, until the day it was due. And that was like a what? A ten measure piano piece? For Theory _1._" Santana said.

Rachel groaned at that memory. It was her Freshmen year at Tisch, and she was way too concerned about making good first impressions with her professors and classmates. Her OCD and perfectionist tendencies had her obsessing over those ten bars. It consumed her, causing her to forget studying for her other finals, and almost gave her an ulcer due to stress. All that sacrifice for a B-, which was higher than most of her classmates but completely unacceptable to her, and she didn't fare too well in her other classes either. It was safe to say she learned her lesson.

"Okay. But still, isn't this a little extreme?" Rachel asked, sighing.

"_Yeah." _Santana emphasized. "Your girlfriend is a bit psycho, Streisand."

Rachel crossed her arms over her chest and grumbled. "We don't _know _her, Santana. Maybe this _is _a complete overreaction to me reading some of her lyrics. Or maybe something else could be going on. And she's not my girlfriend. It's a...it's just a crush." Rachel explained, a crimson flush spreading over her cheeks.

"What were they about?" Santana asked, frustrated.

"I don't know...something about New York. They were really good though." Rachel said, chewing on her lip as she tried to recall the words written on that page.

Santana's jaw dropped. "You're kidding." She deadpanned.

Rachel tilted her head. "What?"

"Rachel Barbra Short Stack Frodo Berry you are a major idiot. First class stupid bitch. You're a fucking moron. Did you know that?" Santana asked with a little laugh.

"That was incredibly rude." Rachel defended.

"And you're incredibly dim. New York? Really? I don't even need to know the rest of the words to know what that's about." Santana said.

Rachel opened her mouth to ask what exactly Santana was getting at, but Brittany walked up.

"Are you guys talking about Quinn?" Brittany asked, sidling up Santana.

"Yeah, we are. Do you know what's wrong with her?" Santana asked, stepping closely into Brittany's space with a warm look of affection.

Brittany glanced at Rachel and shrugged. "She's been weird all day." She explained. "She'll fess up when she's ready."

Rachel frowned and looked down.

"Don't be sad Rachel." Brittany said sympathetically. "She still likes you."

Rachel looked up at her quizzically, Brittany beaming brightly and Santana looking like she got caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

Before Rachel could ask what the Hell was going on, the three girls were being ushered out of the house by Kurt.

"Come on, we're going to go get dinner and drinks!" Kurt yelled, excitedly.

"Yes, I know this great place on Bourbon Street!" Matt, their host explained with a huge smile plastered across his rounded face. "You guys will love it. The food's great, and so is the music. And yes, it has vegan options." Matt gave Rachel a small smile.

Rachel smiled back. "Hi, thank you for hosting us tonight." Rachel said politely. "I'm Rachel Berry."

Matt offered his hand and Rachel shook it firmly. "Hi Rachel, I'm Matt. It's nice to meet you. I saw one of your last performances of Cabaret last year when our family went up to New York, and man, it was fantastic."

Rachel positively beamed. "Why thank you Matt."

She always felt relieved when someone recognized her not for her high budget supernatural romance big screen debut that turned out to be an even bigger flop, but for her Tony award winning performance.

The ride to the restaurant/bar took a little over 20 minutes, since Matt lived on the outskirts of town. Him and Rachel hit it off pretty well, he seemed like a decent guy. He had gone to high school with the group, but moved the summer before his junior year to New Orleans so his family could be closer to his sick grandmother. After she passed and he graduated, he decided he loved the city too much, and was now studying accounting at the University of Louisiana. He had kept in touch with his old friends and offered up his own house, which his grandmother left his parents when she died and they let Matt stay there for a small rent and cost of utilities since it was closer to school, whenever they were in the area in order to spend time with them.

"I love it, but it's too big for little old me. I like having a house full of maniacs every now and then." Matt explained with a large grin.

They pulled up to the bar and Matt led them inside.

"Wow." Rachel said, looking around. At the front of the restaurant, a big band blared the familiar melody of In The Mood. The place was packed with people, laughing and eating, and a few people dancing on a small dance floor. The room was warmly lit, and the atmosphere was-

"Incredible!" Rachel exclaimed, excitedly.

"I'm glad you like it, this is one of the oldest bars in the country. Sometimes big bands play, sometimes small jazz ensembles play, sometimes it's singers. The music is always great, and so is the food." Matt said smiling.

As the waitress seated them at a small table in the corner, closest to the band, Santana pushed Rachel to sit next to Puck.

The taller brunette leaned in between the two. "This place is a hive of action, so get your canoodling on." She hissed.

Puck and Rachel exchanged a shrug and sat next to each other.

* * *

About two hours later, Rachel was plastered, to say the least. She was currently outside, clinging to Puck's arm tightly for balance. The two were waiting for the group, all of them significantly less drunk (most of them not at all) to pull the van around.

She did not have any intention to get drunk tonight, but then Kurt ordered and appletini and it had just been so long since she had one of those so she ordered one, too. And then once she felt her edges start to blur from that one drink (she was a lightweight) and the anxiety of her Quinn situation start to fade to the back of her mind, she ordered another. Which turned into three. Which turned into five. Santana and Puck had carried her out as she drunkenly sang along to Strike Up the Band.

"Let's have FUN! FUN! FUN!" Rachel sang along, somehow completely in tune and sounding fabulous even with the 5 appletinis coursing through her.

Puck sighed and rolled his eyes. Since he was the "faux beau", as Rachel so drunkenly put it, he got stuck watching her while the group found the van and brought it around. Sam had offered to go get it since Rachel was a tad bit indisposed, but out of embarrassment everyone followed.

"Puck?" Rachel asked brightly.

"Yes Rachel?" He asked, wrapping his free arm around her waist for support as she toppled over a little.

"What is there...is...is...whats wrong with Quinn?" She slurred.

"A lot of things." He grumbled, expelling a frustrated puff of air. He was still pissed about the fight he had earlier that night with the girl.

"No but why's she so mad?" Rachel asked.

"Don't know drunky. But here's our ride." Puck said, guiding Rachel to the van.

She stumbled a bit, and clung on to Puck for dear life.

"Okay but-" Rachel asked.

"I don't know whats wrong with Quinn today. She does this sometimes. Something sets her off, she goes into self destruct mode for a little while, then acts like nothing ever happened." Puck explained, helping her up into the middle seat.

"And no, I don't know what set her off." Puck stated.

Rachel just frowned and took her spot next to Santana and Brittany, who were exchanging sloppy kisses.

"God that happened way too fast." Artie commented from the front passenger seat, deliberately keeping his head forward.

"Hey they're in love. They say you can't rush love but sometimes love rushes you." Sam said, pulling out into the street.

"Are you sure you're sober? What fortune cookie did you read that off of?" Finn asked from the back seat with a snicker.

Sam frowned. "Of course I'm sober! I wouldn't put my bros in danger."

The rest of the group (that wasn't in the process of gratuitously making out) laughed, while a drunken Rachel ruminated over Sam's unlikely wisdom.

She was quiet for the entire ride, letting her thoughts carry her away.

Maybe she liked Quinn as more than just a friend, and maybe (definitely) it was more than just a crush.

When they got back to Matt's, Santana and Brittany immediately bolted upstairs.

"Hey short stuff." Kurt said. "We're gonna go down stairs and play some Call of Duty in Matt's game room. You're free to join us."

Rachel laughed. "Really? You playing Call of Duty? I can't picture that."

Kurt looked affronted by Rachel's sniggering. "I grew up and currently live with Finn and Puck. It's a good way to release frustration."

Rachel giggled more. "No, thanks...I'm tired." Rachel said, with a yawn.

Matt sidled up next to Kurt and handed him a can of Coke. "Living room's all set up. It's right in there." Matt said gesturing to a doorway. "And the bathroom's down the hallway, first right. And if you get thirsty or hungry, feel free to take whatever you need from the kitchen. What's mine is yours."

"Thank you for your...hospital. I mean hospitality!" Rachel exclaimed a little too loudly, still feeling the effects from her appletinis.

Matt and Kurt laughed as they both wished Rachel goodnight..

Rachel was starting to sober up, but she decided she was way too out of it to go through her nightly routine. Her feet, slightly steadier than they were at the bar, carried her into the living room.

The room was pitch black and quiet, except for the steady sounds of Quinn's breathing. Rachel felt her heart skip a beat. She was alone with Quinn! But she was asleep. Damn it.

She didn't want to turn the light on in case it would wake Quinn (which it wouldn't have, and a sober Rachel would have known this). She fumbled around the room, hands out, looking for a sofa or an air mattress to flop down on. In the darkness, she couldn't see the coffee table that was less than a foot away from-

"Ouch!" She cried as her knee rammed into the pointy edge of the coffee table. She stumbled over and fell on something slim and warm.

"VAMPIRES!" Quinn yelled in a daze, bolting up right and causing Rachel to roll off of her onto the mattress next to her.

Rachel groaned and rubbed at her knee.

"Who's there?" Quinn asked blearily as she pawed at her eyes. She realized that she was awake and vampires were most definitely not attacking her.

"Me." Rachel stated weakly.

"Rachel?"

"Yes."

"What are you doing?" Quinn asked, concerned.

"I'm drunk."

Quinn groaned. Of course Rachel was drunk. She didn't want to deal with Rachel sober right now, let alone a drunken version.

"Are you hurt?" She asked.

"I banged my leg." Rachel whined, sounding like she was 20 years younger than she actually was.

Quinn pulled her cellphone out of her pocket and opened up the flashlight app, lighting up her face in a soft silvery-blue glow.

"I should have thought of that, you're a genius Quinn!" Rachel exclaimed, feeling stupid that she didn't use her phone to see where she was going.

Quinn shook her head, not sure whether to be amused or annoyed. "Let me see your leg."

"I'm not bleeding." Rachel insisted, sitting up.

"Still." Quinn said in a tone that left no room to argue. Rachel meekly rolled up the leg of her jeans and scooted closer to Quinn. The pink haired girl shined her light down on it.

"You're probably going to have a bruise, but you'll be fine." Quinn stated, pocketing her phone and lying back down, making sure to face away from Rachel. She seemed more relieved that Rachel was okay then the injured girl herself.

"I told you!" Rachel yelled triumphantly. "I wasn't bleeding!"

Quinn shushed her. "Rachel, I don't think that's a victory."

"I still win." Rachel argued.

"Lie down please. I was sleeping." Quinn pleaded.

Rachel immediately felt guilty, and leaned back onto the mattress she was currently situated on.

"I'm sorry I woke you up." She whispered loudly.

"It's fine." Quinn stated. "Just go to sleep."

"I'm sorry I'm drunk, too." Rachel said.

"Rachel you're allowed to get-"

"I know it's rude for me to just barge in here and frighten you, and my only excuse-"

"Rachel!"

"Is that I'm drunk. And it's even more rude because-"

"Please stop talking!"

"I know you don't drink. While I normally don't imbibe alcoholic beverages I realize-"

"Jeez."

"And I'm your guest. And I mean, okay Kurt and Puck and Brittany where drinking and they're technically my hosts too-"

"Oh my God, she talks more when she's drunk!"

"I just want to say I'm sorry. And um...I'm sorry I fell on you too-"

Quinn groaned and hit her head on the pillow as Rachel continued her rant.

"And I can assure that I am not a vampire. And if I were, I'd be like those vampires from those horrible movies, and I wouldn't drink human blood." Rachel explained.

"Are you done?"

"Oh my gosh, but then I'd be killing animals! Maybe I would drink human blood." Rachel cried out in terror. "That would be quite sanctimonious of me since I've advocated PETA all this time! I think I'd rather just starve. I would be kind of like a vampire martyr. But wait, no. I can't die before I win an EGOT!"

Rachel bit her lip, contemplating what she would do in the case of her becoming a vampire before she won her EGOT.

Quinn sighed in relief and closed her eyes firmly. She had to admit that okay, maybe that drunken rant was cute (adorable), but she really did want to sleep. She felt that haziness cloud her thoughts.

"Quinn?" Rachel called out.

Quinn opened her eyes and huffed. "Yes, Rachel?"

"Promise me you won't let vampires get me until I get an EGOT?" Rachel asked.

Quinn couldn't help the giggle that escaped her mouth. "How about I just promise to protect you from vampires in general?" She said as she turned to where Rachel was lying. She couldn't see the girl in the dark, but she could feel warm puffs of air on her face, telling her that the diva was close.

"That works too." Rachel said.

Quinn smiled. "I'll never let them hurt you. I promise." She half sung.

"I kind of like that." Rachel stated.

"It's from an old My Chemical Romance song." Quinn stated, giving up on trying to sleep while the diva was still awake. Apparently the girl was more talkative when drunk.

"I've never really listened to them." Rachel admitted, feeling kind of embarrassed. She realized that the "MCR" on the hoodie Quinn was wearing earlier must have meant "My Chemical Romance." And she probably was a big fan if she owned their merchandise. All she wanted was to impress Quinn. "Are they your favorite band."

"Yep. Well, one of the top five." Quinn answered.

"Well then I'll give them a listen. What are the other four?" Rachel asked.

Quinn shook her head. "You'll find out eventually."

"Quinn!"

"Liza Minnelli sings on one of their songs." Quinn deflected, biting her lip and smiling when she heard Rachel's shocked gasp.

"Really? I can't believe I didn't know that. Now I have to listen to them!" Rachel declared. "Don't let me forget!" She demanded.

Quinn laughed. "Okay. But Rachel?"

"Yeah Quinn?" Rachel said, quietly.

"I really want to go back to bed." Quinn chuckled.

"I'm sorry." Rachel said. "Of course."

Quinn sighed and rolled over, wondering if she'd be able to fall asleep while Rachel's silence lasted because Rachel definitely couldn't keep her mouth shut for 10 minutes.

She heard a yawn next to her, and the girl shift around to get comfortable. Quinn counted down in her head. 5...4...3...

"Are you mad at me?" Rachel whispered in a much softer tone than she was whispering before. She was unsure of whether Quinn was asleep or not.

"No." Quinn whispered back after a moment.

"Why were you so upset today then?" Rachel asked, unable to quell her curiosity.

"It's...just go to sleep Rachel." Quinn sighed, not knowing how to explain. Or wanting to.

Rachel fidgeted in her bed a little more. "Okay. Goodnight. Sweet dreams."

"Goodnight." Quinn whispered in response.

Rachel fought off every urge to speak while she waited for the girl lying beside her to fall asleep. When soft snoring started to fill the room, Rachel scooted a little bit closer to Quinn.

Rachel was starting to sober up, but her BAC was still high enough that she had an excuse for her arms wrapping around the sleeping girl's torso and her head resting against her shoulder.

Quinn's body felt right in her arms, and she fell asleep fantasizing about cuddling with the girl when she was awake.

* * *

Quinn woke up, feeling an unexplainable source of warmth pressing against her back. The sun light seeped into the room through the blinds, illuminating Puck and Finn who were cuddling together on the couch.

She snorted at the sight of her two band mates. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes and turned around to find Rachel Berry holding her tightly to her chest. Quinn gulped when she realized that her hands were clutching at the golden arms wrapped around her torso. Rachel's snored softly against her neck.

Quinn felt her heart rate rise as she gently turned around in the other girls arms, coming face to face with the sleeping girl. She was absolutely beautiful while she slept, her face so calm and peaceful and quietly snoring.

She closed her eyes and let her bask in the warmth of the girls arms for a few minutes before she gently untangled herself from Rachel's arms. She navigated the landmines of sleeping boys (Santana and Brittany nowhere to be found) and head into the kitchen to make herself some coffee.

She was familiar enough with Matt's kitchen to navigate her way around and work the coffee machine. She couldn't even bring herself to care that it was only 8 in the morning as the gurgling sounds of the percolating coffee maker filled the kitchen. She had slept well last night, for the first time in a while.

She didn't want to dwell on how nice it was to have woken up in Rachel's arms, or how special it made her feel. Rachel was just a cuddle, she reasoned. Quinn should have guessed that from the start. That girl screamed cuddlier.

Still, Sam was sleeping on the other side of Rachel. She could have cuddled with him.

"I'm doomed to be forever 15." Quinn muttered to herself self deprecatingly as she felt her heart flutter.

"You do dress like one of those spoiled suburban teens that maxed out their daddy's credit card at the local Hot Topic in attempts to piss him off with your 'rebellion'. Oh...wait..." Santana rambled, half asleep, as she entered the kitchen.

Quinn bit swallowed her anger at that statement. "Morning Santana." She growled.

Santana laughed. "Morning Tank Girl. Is that coffee I smell?"

Quinn nodded and Santana walked over to one of the cupboards, opening it and pulling out two mugs.

"How did you know where those where?" Quinn asked.

"I can see through walls. Like Superman." Santana deadpanned.

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Shut up." She said. Santana sniggered as she handed a cup over. "I'm still asleep."

"Hence the coffee." Santana replied as the machine dinged. Quinn reached for the pot but was too slow, Santana had already snatched it off the burner and was pouring her own cup.

"Feeling better She-Hulk?" Santana asked, handing the pot over to Quinn.

Quinn scoffed. "You sure know a lot of comic books." Quinn stated.

"I'm up to date with my pop culture, thank you very much." Santana shot back.

Quinn opened the fridge and pulled out some cream. She offered it to Santana who shook her head and took a long pull from her black coffee.

The two stood at the kitchen island and drank their coffee in an awkward silence. Quinn thought about the night before. Specifically the drunken Rachel parts. Normally, she didn't like to deal with drunken people. She had a lot of stories about that, and 90% of them didn't have happy endings. But she couldn't help but want to be around Rachel despite that.

The silence was interrupted with a familiar ding. Santana placed her coffee on the counter and pulled her cell phone out. She scrolled through it, quietly "he-heh"-ing to herself with a giant smirk on her face.

"What?" Quinn asked, her tone annoyed.

"The tabloids already have pictures of Rachel and Puck from last night." Santana said, sliding her phone across the island. Quinn picked the device up with her freehand and scrolled through the article, posted on some second string celebrity gossip blog.

_"Puckleberry?"_ Read the blog's headline.

_Here at Jacob Ben Israel's Celebs and Scandals, we have exclusive pictures of Broadway star and known zombiephile (in the sexual sense), Rachel Berry, out and about New Orleans hanging on to the arm of a HOT young man. According to my cousin, that young man is one Noah "Puck" Puckerman, the bass player of the up and coming pop-punk band Bowser Jr. Other sources have confirmed that Rachel Berry has been in attendance of the last few shows of their headlining tour. Neither parties have commented, but we can let the pictures do the talking!_

Underneath the article where a few pictures grainy pictures. The first two were pretty innocuous, just Rachel and Puck sitting in a coffee shop and talking with a safe distance between them. The last 3 where various shots of the two standing outside of a bar, a definitely drunk Rachel clutching on to Puck with Puck's arms wrapped around her waist in a very intimate position.

Quinn growled and passed the phone back to Santana.

"They're doing pretty good aren't they?" Santana said, raising an eyebrow at Quinn. Quinn frowned and drank from her coffee. Rachel was drunk, and Puck was probably just trying to help her stay balanced, she rationalized, trying to fight off her irrational jealousy and ire.

"I guess." Quinn grumbled.

"They have pretty good chemistry. Maybe I could hook them up? Do you think Puck would go for it?" Santana asked with feigned innocence. Her tone and her expression suggested that she was up to something, and Quinn shook with anger.

"No." She stated firmly, and dropped her mug in the sink. "Rachel was drunk. Puck was obviously helping her."

"Sure." Santana said.

Quinn scoffed. Rachel was drunk, she told herself over and over again.

With that in mind, she opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water, then walked to one of the drawers and pulled out a tiny bottle of Advil. She left the kitchen and walked back into the living room, once again maneuvering the land mine of sleeping bodies and placing the two items down by Rachel who would most certainly need them in the morning. Quinn left and exited the house, lighting up a cigarette on the front steps.

If Rachel asked who left the water and the aspirin, Quinn would feign ignorance. She already had to admit to herself that she cared too much, she didn't want to admit it to Rachel either.

* * *

Kurt fumbled into the kitchen with half opened eyes.

"G'mornin'. " He mumbled to Santana as he automatically navigated his way to the coffee pot.

"Morning Mr. Hummel!" Santana greeted cheerily. "And how are you on this lovely, green, morning."

Kurt turned to Santana and raised an eyebrow as he mixed sugar and cream into his cup of coffee. "Have you been smoking pot?"

"Why of course not. I'm referring to the other green friend." Santana said, cackling evilly.

"What...the Ninja Turtles? The Green Power Ranger? The Hulk? I'm not awake enough to play your mind games." Kurt stated, his eyes opening a little more with his first few sips of coffee.

"The green monster." Santana said.

"I still don't follow." Kurt said.

"He's paying a visit to our friend Quinn." Santana explained. "Courtesy of PR via her and Puck."

"Well, didn't we know that was going to happen? Isn't that the plan?" Kurt asked.

Santana slid her phone over to Kurt and showed him the article. "Google alerts informed me of this fine tidbit a few minutes ago, and Courtney Love happened to read it."

Kurt smiled. "Gosh, this press stuff wasn't supposed to happen for a while right?"

Santana said. "Yep, but I'm not complaining. It'll get the studio off our backs a little, and help our cupid game along."

Kurt nodded. "Lets just hope our gentle guidance will help them get to each other."

Santana just laughed. "Don't worry, if our little stint at playing fate doesn't work, I have a plan that's an equivalent to a baseball bat to the head."

Kurt smiled. "Excellent."

* * *

**A/N: **The My Chem songs referenced were The Vampires Will Never Hurt You and Mama. Also they wrote the song this story was named after, which I believe I've failed to mention before.


	14. Chapter 14

"What the fuck is wrong with everyone?" Matt whispered in Kurt's ear as he speared a bite of pancake into his mouth. The scene before him was awkward and tense, completely the opposite of every other time he hosted the band at his house. Normally they were playful and kept things light, but this breakfast was complete with a tension that could be cut with a butter knife.

Sam, Artie, and Finn were focused solely on their plates of food and shoveling the contents into their mouths. Brittany and Santana were settled close, occasionally smiling at each other but quiet nonetheless. Puck was scowling and violently stabbing at his pancakes and eggs and pushing them around his plate where normally he'd be scarfing everything down like the other three boys.

Quinn was frowning at her food, occasionally sipping at her coffee but not eating her food which was worrisome. Quinn not eating bacon was a sign of the impending apocalypse. Every now and then she would glance up to give Puck a harsh glare, or look longingly at Rachel. Rachel looked confused. She was definitely hung over and frowning, slowly but steadily eating her cantaloupe and looking up at Quinn with a sad little expression.

Sometimes the two girl's gazes would meet, and they'd both look away quickly as if they were caught. Kurt was sitting back in his seat, eating his food and acting completely normal.

"Well," Kurt said, leaning over to whisper to Matt. "Quinn and Rachel like each other, but neither of them realize that the feeling is mutual. Quinn is being her normal self, acting cold or whatever because it's her only defense mechanism for protecting her heart, but some times she has these moments of weakness and Rachel is understandably confused."

Matt nodded and took another bite of pancake as he listened intently.

"Now, I'm assuming that last night was one of those moments of weakness, and they had a nice moment before they fell asleep." Kurt said.

"Good assumption, didn't you say they were spooning when you and the guys went to bed?" Matt asked.

Kurt nodded. "Yep."

Matt frowned. "What does Puck have to do with this?"

Kurt shook his head. "The studio wanted Rachel to have a showmance to generate some buzz for the movie or something. Now, Santana had offered Quinn a chance but instead Quinn turned it down and Puck got stuck doing it. So Quinn is inexplicably jealous and raging at Puck and consequently everyone else that gets in her way, and Puck is pissed about it because he doesn't understand what he did to deserve her wrath."

Matt's eyes widened and he put his fork down. "Wow, that...that honestly makes no sense at all."

Kurt nodded and laughed. "Yep, not at all."

"Has there ever been this much drama on one of your tours?" Matt asked.

Kurt shook his head. "Nope. I mean, Quinn was pretty down after she split with the she-beast and she was kind of a bitch about it, but it wasn't this huge internal mess."

Matt laughed. "I bet it's interesting."

Kurt smiled and giggled. "It's like I'm watching a soap opera unfolding in front of my eyes."

"What happens next?" Matt asked. "Or, what do you think will?"

Kurt bit his lip in contemplation. "Either Quinn's going to explode, or the plan will be put into effect and they'll fall into each other's arms."

Matt raised an eyebrow. "The plan?"

"Mhm, the plan." Kurt repeated, nodding enthusiastically. "Santana, Brittany, and myself are in the process of devising a plan to force them to be together because they're both idiots."

Matt looked skeptical. "Don't those things usually backfire?"

"Usually, but Satan over there is an evil mastermind, and Britt and I are normal geniuses." Kurt stated proudly.

Matt shook his head and laughed. "Okay. Please let me know how your plan works out."

Kurt just smiled. "You'll see Matty boy, you'll see. Our little stint as Cupid will work out, and those two will be married with little crazy haired diva babies in a matter of time."

Matt rolled his eyes. "Okay Kurt."

Kurt just smiled, but gasped when Finn unexpectedly slammed his fist on the table.

"I can't take this anymore! What the fuck is going on between you two?" He demanded, looking between Puck and Quinn.

"Puck's a fucking asshole." and "Quinn is a raging bitch." Were said at the same time.

"Stop, you guys, this is fucking awful." Finn said. "We're a band together, we're a family, and you're apparently fighting for no reason and it's making me sick. _And _you're ruining everyone's breakfast."

Quinn just stood up. "I'm done anyway." She said before storming out of the room and slamming a door shut from somewhere behind her, her bacon left untouched on her plate.

Everyone stopped and stared, their eyes volleying between the place where Quinn was standing a moment ago and Puck. Puck just sat down quietly and forked a large mouthful of eggs into his mouth, ignoring everyone's gaze.

"Uh, the pancakes are really delicious, Matt." Artie said timidly from his spot at the end of the table, trying to diffuse some of the tension.

Matt nodded his thanks then leaned back closer to Kurt. "Y'all motherfuckers are living in Days of Our Lives."

Kurt laughed and shook his head. "Nah, more like Degrassi. They're not mature enough."

Matt just smiled, not being able to deny that claim.

* * *

Quinn stood on Matt Rutherford's back porch, puffing slowly on a cigarette and thinking. Her conversation with Rachel last night had been nice, fantastic even, despite the fact that the other girl was pretty out of it. She couldn't even begin to describe how waking up cuddled up against Rachel felt. It had made her feelings for the other girl grow in a huge way, and that was exactly what she was trying to avoid. She had promised Brittany that she wouldn't be mean but pushing people away with scathing insults and coldness was just how she dealt with these kind of things.

It wasn't like she wanted to be mean to Rachel, it was just her Fabray instincts taking over. Her family was never good at showing affection. Hugs and kisses were considered moments of weakness, and Quinn never received any recognition from her parents for her accomplishments since those things were expected from her. Most of the time they ignored each other. The only time her parents ever really noticed her is when she screwed up monumentally. Those last moments of her father's rage and mother's backhanded insults were her last and only memories of her parents showing her anything, the last signs of "love", as her father put it.

She tried her hardest to not be like them, but old habits died hard. Besides, she didn't know _how_ to show someone that she really loved them. How could she when the two forms of affection her parents reigned on her were avoidance and abuse?

Her last experience with this kind of thing made her feel that her parents had been right in some way, but she knew it was a vicious cycle. If she had been more open,had expressed herself and her feelings instead of pushing away and guarding herself, she wouldn't have wound up so heartbroken in the end. So instead of risking herself again, she was trying to push Rachel away before she had the chance to _really _do some damage.

She was incredibly aware of this problem, and she was taking steps to fix it as best she could. But she also knew that she wanted Rachel in a big way. What she didn't know was how to deal with it or even if she could.

God, everything was so frustrating. It felt like once again she was shouldering the weight of the world's problems. Instead of doing it in a healthy manner she was lashing out at everyone she could be it in the form of ignoring them, glaring at them, or being incredibly rude.

"Quinn." Puck called out, sliding open the glass door and stepping onto Matt's deck.

"No, Puck, don't." Quinn said in a low growl, this was the last thing she needed right now, someone to egg her on while she was trying to collect herself. "You're the last person I want to see right now."

Puck stepped forward and leaned over the rail a good distance away from Quinn and looked out over the backyard. "Why's that Q?" He asked, looking pointedly at the huge tree looming over the yard.

"You know why." Quinn deflected.

"No, Q, I really don't. Why don't you tell me?" Puck said honestly.

Quinn huffed and crossed her arms.

"I know you're pissed. But I really honestly don't understand why you are. I don't think I did anything explicitly wrong but you and I both know that I am a moron and most likely did something unintentional. So if that's the case then okay, you have the right to be pissed, but I also think I have the right to know why." Puck explained, turning to look at Quinn.

Quinn bit her lip. "Really? You have no idea why? Because last night you had some really interesting theories."

Puck sighed and ran his hand through his mohawk. "You were shouting at me and I just didn't get why, so yeah, I threw some things out there that I thought could be the reason. I mean, I just noticed some stuff and made my assumptions, but like I said...I'm a fucking moron, Q. I try to read my cues with you, and sometimes you're an open book but other times you're like a Rubik's cube." He said with a small chuckle.

Quinn huffed but nodded.

"Look, you're my best fucking friend in the world and I apologize for assuming shit about you. But please, just tell me why you're mad so I can at least decide whether it's warranted or not and if should go on being a dick to you." Puck begged with a small sigh. His forehead was wrinkled and he was frowning, his eyes weary with sadness and concern for his friend.

Quinn took a deep breath and uncrossed her arms. He didn't deserve this at all.

"You're totally right." Quinn stated, taking a step closer to Puck.

Puck's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? I don't think I've ever heard you say that before." He said with a small chuckle. He shut up when Quinn fixed him with an angry glare.

"I don't...I don't know why I'm this upset over it but...Puck I really really like Rachel. I don't know. I have feelings for her. And I don't know what to do about it at all." Quinn admitted.

It was quiet for a moment. Quinn waited for another smart ass comment, an "I knew it!" or an "I told you so!" but one never came.

"So like, you're jealous of me?" He asked with a frown.

"Yeah." Quinn said quietly, biting her lip and slumping forward.

"You know that's bullshit, Q." He stated seriously.

"Yes." She hissed in a defeated tone. "I know. I gave up that PR thing, forced it into your lap, and now I'm jealous of you. I just don't know how to deal with this alright." Quinn said.

"If you're so upset about it then why didn't you do it?" Puck asked.

Quinn frowned. "It's like I said yesterday. I don't want that invasion of privacy, and I really don't want to be a part of one of those smoke in mirrors Hollywood games."

"Okay, I understand that. But that isn't the real reason and we both know it." Puck said, eyebrow raised.

Quinn groaned. "I couldn't be in that situation. It would hurt too much, acting like that and knowing that it wasn't real. It would hurt too much." She admitted.

Puck frowned and stepped closer to his friend and wrapped his arm around her in sympathy. "That makes sense. You treating everyone like shit doesn't though."

Quinn leaned on his shoulder and sighed. "I know Puck. I don't know how to handle it though."

Puck snorted. "How about you handle it like a grown up, Q?"

She elbowed him hard in the rib. "Hey!"

"Like you're the poster child for maturity." Quinn scoffed.

He shrugged and rubbed at his elbow. "I've been handling this better than you."

Quinn felt her shoulders tense up again. "Okay, like you know what the fuck I'm going through. And besides it's not exactly unwarranted that I'd be jealous of you. You were the one that was all like 'whoa she's so hot' and 'who do you think will sleep with her first because I want to'."

Puck let go of her, sensing that she needed some space. "Okay, fair enough. But you _know _that I was kidding right?"

Quinn didn't say anything, but raised an eyebrow in response that meant _"are you fucking kidding me?"_

"Well, okay, maybe before I met her I was serious." Puck admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "But like, now that I know her I don't think I would. Especially knowing that you have this ridiculous boner that you have for her. Seriously Q, you've never gone for those high maintenance diva types."

Quinn huffed. "I don't think I've ever met anyone like her, Puck. She falls into her own category."

Puck smiled deviously at that. "Awwww, Q ball, that might have been the cheesiest thing I've ever heard you say. You really do like her."

Quinn made a move to hit him again but he dodged it this time. "Seriously though, Q, you're being a bitch to everyone about this and none of us fucking did anything. So either you man up and stop taking this out on every single person around you, or you go on being a terror and piss off all of your friends."

Quinn frowned, now properly chastised and feeling pretty guilty. He was right. She of course knew that even before this conversation, but hearing it out loud made her feel pretty shitty about herself. Her friends really did deserve better, they were just trying to do right by her. "Okay, Puck, I'm sorry that I was a raging bitch to you."

Puck smiled warmly and offered his fist. "I accept, Q, you're my bro." Quinn bumped her fist against him and couldn't help but smile when Puck exploded it.

"You're such a fucking dork." Quinn said as she dropped her cigarette into the red plastic cup she brought outside to serve as a makeshift ashtray.

"Fair enough. But okay, what am I going to do about this? I don't want to be her fake boyfriend if it's bothering you this much. Bro's before hoes, even if there is nothing going on between the bro and the hoe." Puck said.

Quinn shook her head. "Nothing. You're not going to do anything. I made my bed, and now I have to lie in it. I just have to suck it up, and beat the fuck out of you if anything shifty happens. Also she's not a hoe."

"Quinn, I promise that I won't do anything, try anything, or whatever. Especially now that I know whats going on." Puck said. "Cross my heart, hope to die." He made the gesture, crossing his hand over his chest.

"Thanks Puck." She said quietly, and stepped forward to hug him tightly.

* * *

The rest of the day had been considerably better for everyone but Rachel. She was still hungover and confused by Quinn's suddenly icy demeanor compared to the nice conversation they had last night. When she woke up that morning Quinn was long gone and in her place was a bottle of water and a bottle of ibuprofen. She just _knew_ that Quinn was responsible for it. Everyone was still sound asleep except for her, Kurt, Brittany, and Santana. While the later three where much more likely to have left her the medicine considering Quinn's standoffish mood, she just had this overwhelming feeling that Quinn was responsible for it.

Breakfast had been awful, thick with tension that could be pinpointed to Quinn and herself. The whole meal she spent staring at Quinn in confusion, then getting caught and looking away. Wash, rinse, repeat. Then to make matters worse, Finn decided to start banging and yelling which did nothing for her hangover. Then later, Quinn and Puck were absolutely fine, and Quinn was acting normal around everyone except for her.

Sure Quinn could be aloof and quiet, she was that way around everyone at some points. But the Quinn that showed up when her and Rachel were alone for their guitar lessons was warm and friendly, kind of a dork, talented, creative, _and passionate.  
_

She was unique, Rachel had never met anyone like her before in her life. She had spent 4 years at Tisch and another 4 in Broadway and in Hollywood, where everyone she came into contact with claimed to be unique artists. In reality, the entire lot of them were exactly the same, fake and egotistical and too into themselves to notice anything going on around them. Quinn wasn't like that at all, she was genuine and humble.

On their drive to Austin, Rachel made sure to look up those My Chemical Romance songs Quinn had told her about along with that song Freakish that Quinn had covered once she remembered that Saves The Day was another one of Quinn's favorite bands. She found herself downloading a bunch of albums and songs by both bands directly to her phone on the drive up. Both artists where incredible, and just listening to their songs made her feel a little more connected to Quinn. Plus that song with Liza was pretty fantastic.

They stopped for a quick dinner at an all night diner and spent the night rattling down the road with Kurt behind the wheel. Rachel had woken up alone in the van to Santana shaking her the next day, having slept fitfully through the night on the bumpy roads so she could go to her guitar lesson with Quinn.

"I don't want to, she hates me." Rachel whined.

"Oh my God, you're how old? Get the fuck over it." Santana snapped, leaving no room for argument.

Rachel wanted to cry, but sucked it up and got up. Once she was out of the van Santana handed her a coffee. "She's in the dressing room, I cleared it out for the next hour. If Judy Nails acts like a first class bitch to you just let me know okay?" Santana said.

Rachel cocked her head. "Judy Nails?"

Santana's jaw dropped. "Guitar Hero?"

Rachel shook her head. Santana just turned around and stormed away, muttering about how Rachel must have spent high school living under a rock.

Rachel sipped on her coffee and stretched. She wanted to change and maybe look for a suitable shower, but decided to wait until after her lesson due to the fact the trailer was locked and that's where her suitcase was.

She entered the venue, flashing the laminated pass that was now permanently attached to her belt loop to the security guard. She cut her way through the building, saying hi to everyone in the Bowser Jr. crew and a few guys in the other band's groups that she was starting to get to know. As she passed the stage she made note that this venue seemed to be cleaner than most of the ones she had seen so far on this tour and would probably have a working shower, and to find Sam who was bound to have the key to the trailer.

She walked into the long hall that held the dressing rooms, which she was also surprised to note that there was one for each band. She walked up to the one with the sign that said "BOWSER JUNIOR" in nicely printed font with "THIS ROOM IS SANCTIONED FOR GUITAR LESSONS PER ORDER OF SANTANA, IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM TAKE IT UP WITH SATAN HERSELF" scrawled across in sharpie (by Kurt, she presumed). She took a deep breath to brace herself for the cold shoulder she was bound to receive inside and twisted the handle.

She walked in to find Quinn sprawled across a large leather couch, dirty converse kicked up onto one arm of the couch and leaning against the other. The dressing room was small and dim, with a plasma TV in one corner, a mini fridge in the other, a few mismatched arm chairs in the room, a mirror, and a coffee table in the middle. The walls were littered with sharpie drawings, signatures, and stickers of bands that had played there before.

"Hi Quinn." Rachel said timidly, walking further into the room. Quinn turned her head and flashed Rachel a surprisingly friendly smile.

"Hey." Quinn said quietly, sitting up. "Sam's guitar is over in that corner, grab it and we'll start once you're all tuned up and have run a few scales."

Rachel stared at Quinn for a minute, dumbfounded. She had expected Quinn to put up a cold front, talking only in musical terms and grunting her responses to the questions Rachel asked. Instead, she seemed to be in a good mood. It confused Rachel, but she decided not to care as she moved to grab Sam's guitar and sat on the coffee table to tune it.

"I'm ready." Rachel said once she ran through the major and pentatonic scales her and Quinn had been working on.

Quinn nodded. "Alright. I think we're going to start learning how to play chords today." Quinn said.

Rachel couldn't help but roll her eyes and drop her jaw in feigned shock. "Chords, no way!"

Quinn frowned. "You won't be saying that in a little bit."

Rachel laughed. "Sure Quinn."

About 20 minutes later, Rachel was wincing in pain from holding her fingers on 3 strings at a time.

"It doesn't _feel _natural, Quinn." Rachel stated, trying her damnedest not to whine but failing miserably.

Quinn smiled sympathetically. "I know, it hurts to get your fingers to stretch like that, but trust me when I say it is the right way."

Rachel frowned. "I feel like my hand is cramping this way." She said, her fingers slipped a little and she groaned in frustration.

Quinn smiled. "It's okay Rachel, you just have to practice. It'll stop hurting pretty soon, I promise. It's like forming callouses. And you already know how to play piano so your hand is already used to stretching."

Rachel frowned and shook her hand out before placing her fingers back on the fret board to form a D. She scowled as she wiggled her hand around, sliding her hand up and down the fret board and trying to get her fingers to sit the right way against the strings.

"Here, let me help." Quinn said, leaning forward. She touched Rachel's hand lightly and helped her reposition it. Rachel swallowed quickly at the feel of Quinn's fingers on hers, and she could have sworn she noticed Quinn's breath catch.

"Uh, there. There you go." Quinn said, coughing awkwardly and moving back. Rachel could feel the spots where Quinn's fingers touched burn on her hand.

"That's better." Rachel stammered, nervously. "Yeah."

"Okay, now play out all the strings starting from open D up, then strum the chord." Quinn instructed, focusing her attention strictly on Rachel's hands.

Rachel did as she was told, letting the notes ring clearly through the air, then strumming the chord. She beamed proudly. "I did it!"

Quinn smiled. "Yeah, you did. Great job." She stated warmly. Rachel blushed, uncertain why Quinn's tone made her feel so special.

Quinn continued, showing her how to play E minor, C and G, and then drew her diagrams of the chords on a scrap piece of paper from her notebook.

"So just practice playing those chords. Getting all the notes to ring clearly and switching them." Quinn said before packing her guitar away.

"Are we really done?" Rachel asked, resting Sam's guitar gently against the coffee table and sitting up straight.

Quinn snapped her case closed and stood up straight. "Yeah, we're done. Why?"

Rachel just frowned and leaned back, trying to hide her disappointment due to the fact that the hour was over. "It just went by pretty quick."

Quinn stood and smiled awkwardly for a minute, unsure what to say.

Rachel coughed. "I uh, I downloaded a those songs you told me about the other night. And a few others by them. And Saves the Day. They're another of your favorites, right?"

Quinn nodded and smiled. "Yeah. Um, what did you think?"

"I liked them. I liked them both a lot. You have awesome taste in music. It's not stuff I'd normally listen to but I'm really starting to appreciate it. Even the heavier screaming stuff about drugs and vampires." Rachel said, smiling shyly.

Quinn laughed. "I'm glad you liked it. Well...um, yeah well...I'm going to uh go. We have an interview or something. I'll see you later Rachel." Quinn said softly before leaving the room.

Rachel swooned as Quinn left the room over the reverent way that Quinn said her name, and then inwardly cursed herself.

Quinn was all business today, but that was mostly because Rachel was too nervous to try to start any real conversation. Quinn was naturally quiet and Rachel always ended up being the catalyst with her endless barrage of questions. But the problem was that Quinn had been friendly and warm to her after three days of avoidance. It was frustrating, Quinn was driving her crazy. And every time Quinn did that push-pull thing it just enticed Rachel further.

"This is so bad." Rachel groaned, flopping to lie down on the couch with a sore hand.

* * *

"They're killing it tonight." Brittany observed from her spot behind the merch counter. They were situated behind the bar, with a clear view of the stage, close enough to hear but far enough that they could still make conversation without yelling obnoxiously.

Rachel nodded. "Yeah, they really are." She said, smiling. They were doing much better then their last show, were something was definitely off with their onstage chemistry.

Santana scoffed. "How many chords are in each song, like what, 3? I could play that."

Rachel frowned and Brittany swatted at her lightly. "What? I'm just saying." Santana whined.

"Well, they might have some pretty basic chord structures, but their rhythms and melodies are pretty complex. They're playing stuff that involves tri tones and dotted thirty second notes. Plus Quinn's leads are based off chords and scales that are more complex then the basic 5 chords the songs based on, and Finn's drum fills are pretty intricate." Rachel explained in defense. Santana and Brittany just stared blankly. "Furthermore-"

"Alright, Mozart, I'm going to stop you right there because I'm honestly not in the mood for a fucking music lesson." Santana said.

"Were you even speaking English?" Brittany asked.

Rachel just smiled, Santana never backed down. She must have talked her into a corner.

"Alright guys, we have two left tonight. This next one though is a cover, of one of my favorite songs by my favorite bands. If you know the words please sing along." Quinn said, smiling at the rowdy crowd.

Rachel leaned forward onto the merch table and placed her head in her hands, listening intently at a familiar drum beat that started playing. Puck and Quinn came in with low, clean minor chords, and then Quinn's voice crooned lowly before the instruments crescendo-ed and Puck started screaming. The song built up into a heavier, more aggro feel.

"Wow they haven't covered this in a really long time." Brittany observed as Rachel stared on in shock, her heart seizing in her chest completely. She knew this song, it was one of the ones that she had downloaded at Quinn's suggestion. This version was held back a bit due to the fact that they were down a guitarist and Puck wasn't very adept at screaming and playing, but it was incredibly nonetheless. Rachel found her jaw drop.

"Do you know this song?" Brittany asked, taking in Rachel's dumbfounded expression.

Rachel nodded.

"Huh, I didn't think you would like them, especially their older stuff. It's kind of scream y and scary" Brittany said.

Rachel nodded absently as she thought about it and started to doubt herself. It couldn't be that song, she just didn't know the band's discography well enough.

Then she heard it.

"I'll never let them hurt you, I promise."

"No fucking way." Rachel muttered.

"What's the problem, Berry?" Santana asked.

"I think Quinn's playing this song for me." Rachel said.

Brittany and Santana looked at each other and Santana laughed. "How very incredibly romantic. A song about stabbing vampires in the chest and burning down churches." Santana scoffed.

Rachel scowled. "No its...we were talking about it the other night and she said that line, and I think it's because of me." She stated again.

Santana shook her head. "Okay sure." She said.

Rachel just frowned, turning back to the stage. "Santana I think I have real feelings for her. I think I'm falling for her."

Santana and Brittany exchanged excited smiles behind Rachel's back. "Really Very Berry? What are you going to do about it?"

Rachel pouted. "Nothing, she doesn't like me. She pushes me away and acts cordial when she needs to. She didn't even want to be my fake girlfriend, why would she want to be my real one?"

Brittany frowned and Santana rolled her eyes. "Okay, but she's playing this song because of you? You're logic is flawed Berry Juice."

Rachel turned and looked at the two girls. "Well what am I supposed to do? Go up to her and tell her? What happens if she doesn't like me and then we have to spend two more weeks in a van together, huh?"

"Since when were you a coward?" Santana asked.

Rachel met her dark eyes and gave her her best angry stare. "Santana Lopez I am not a coward." She stated firmly, putting her hands on her hips.

"You're shaking in your boots at the idea of even telling her about your witty bitty crush, I call that pretty cowardly. We're all adults here, and this place might be chaotic as all Hell but it's not recess."

Rachel opened her mouth to retort but slammed it shut, turning on her heel with a huff and then storming away.

"Well," Santana sighed watching as Rachel diva-d her way outside, "At least we're one more step closer."

* * *

**A/N: **Just wanted to say thank you to everyone for sticking with this story!


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: **Hello everyone! Things have been pretty chaotic around here. I've recently started a new job which combined with applying to schools again, writing and recording with my band, and a dog that has taken up the habit of making sure I stay off the computer at night (seriously, he barks at me until I get off and go to bed) makes it super difficult to get writing time in for this. I'm not sure how frequently this will be updated in the near future.

Also I've been working on a Faberry/Supernatural crossover, which is either going to be totally awesome or totally lame, and I'm horrible at multitasking.

This chapter is way longer than usual. I just couldn't bring myself to stop writing!

* * *

"The buzz between you two is growing out of control." Santana stated from her position in the up against Brittany in the backseat, as the van rolled down the highway. Everyone was wiped out from the night's performance and looking forward to being able to sleep in the hotel they had booked for the next night.

Rachel cringed as the van drove over a pot hole, jostling between the happy couple and Sam. She sat up straight and blushed. "How so?"

Santana just shrugged, playing around with her phone. "There have been a lot of articles since Jew Fro's blog post about you and Fuckerman. See, like this one, Broadway Starlet seen with Mystery Bad Boy."

Finn snorted from his seat. "Oh my God, Puck as a bad boy! Yeah right! It's a wonder what a few tattoos and a mohawk will do."

Puck slapped the back of Finn's head. "Fuck you Hudson, I'm a total bad ass."

Finn smiled, rubbing the back of his head. "Okay, says the guy who cried playing Silent Hill."

Puck's face dropped. "We were like 15 and that game is scary as fuck!" He lunged for Finn, grabbing the taller boy into a headlock in the middle of the van, pushing Quinn against the door as they tussled.

"If you two don't stop your going to regret it!" Quinn groaned, taking an elbow from Finn straight to the ribs.

The two boys ignored her and continued wrestling as well as they could from the confines of the middle seat. Quinn growled and lunged to grab both of them by the ears, causing the two boys to whimper. Finn looked like he was going to give up, but Puck lunged across and pinched Quinn's arm. The three of them fighting across the seat looked like a cartoon brawl, a random flurry of limbs and curses.

Finally Kurt slammed on the breaks, causing all of the passengers to jolt forward abruptly and throwing Quinn, Finn and Puck to the ground in a twisted heap.

"If you three don't stop I swear to God I will turn this van around." Kurt scolded, turning around to glare at the tangled mess that currently was Bowser Jr. Artie turned around as well, his eyes wide and terrified.

"Yes Dad." Finn said, hopping up into the middle seat first and rubbing his head where he had hit it against something hard that could have been Puck's head or the floor.

Quinn and Puck untangled themselves with some quiet bickering before getting up and sitting down, re buckling their seat belts and pouting.

"Continue, Santana." Kurt said, pressing the gas and moving forward once again.

Santana sat up straight. "Well as I was saying before the Rugrats decided to go at it, there's a lot of press and we're going to be in LA pretty soon. Instead of a few blurry cellphone pictures and he said she said accounts, there's going to be paparazzi every where, looking to get the first candids of the new couple."

Quinn balked and folded her arms across her chest. She had been getting used to the pseudo couple hanging around each other for the past few days, her conversation with Puck putting her mind at ease a little, but dealing with the paparazzi was not something she was looking forward to.

"Well, what do we have to do then?" Rachel asked.

Santana shrugged. "Just what you have been doing. Go out together, stand close, that kind of stuff. Maybe step it up a notch though."

Rachel frowned. "Are you suggesting I kiss him?"

"No." Santana scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Just maybe, hold hands or something? Cling on to his arm, hug him a lot or whatever. Make it convincing."

Rachel nodded. Puck glanced between Rachel and Quinn, frowning. "What happens if the press doesn't buy it?"

"I don't know. I think the studio is going to try and set it up so she looks like she's dating one of her costars once the movie starts filming, so I don't think that you two have to act like you're going to get married or whatever. If the studio doesn't like how you two are acting in public I don't think anything bad will happen, Rachel might get yelled at a little." Santana explained.

"So basically I'm doing this for nothing?" Puck asked, looking at Santana. "I'm just going to be some boy toy for a little while?"

Santana laughed. "What, are you hurt Puckerman?"

Puck scowled and glanced over at Quinn who had her eyes closed. He knew she was pretending to sleep in order to block out the conversation. "No, I don't know. I should have thought about this before I agreed."

"Look, you're not doing this for nothing. The studio is trying to generate some interest in Rachel. They want this movie to be big, since it actually has the foundations to succeed. Rachel hanging around you guys for research isn't as interesting as Rachel hanging around you guys because shes screwing one of you." Santana said. "Plus, you guys are getting a bunch of press from it too, it's not a bad thing at all."

Kurt sighed. "Look, guys, we have the day off tomorrow. Let's just get to the hotel, sleep all day and get some showers, maybe do some laundry, and relax before we focus on what happens in LA."

Everyone that was still awake, sans the ones acting, muttered their agreement as Kurt drove on into the night.

* * *

They reached the Marriott in Phoenix at around 12 noon, just in time for check in. The group stood around the lobby in various states of coherency. Sam, Finn, Quinn, and Rachel all looked like they were going to pass out where they stood, eyes fluttering and each on the verge of tipping over. Kurt was checking in, yawning constantly as he spoke with the young man behind the counter. Puck was leaning forward over Artie's chair, practically resting on his shoulders with an angry scowl and his eyes closed while Artie uncomfortably tried to maneuver away from him without knocking him to the ground.

Santana and Brittany were the only ones that seemed to be awake, chatting away in front of the courtesy coffee maker.

"So tell me the plan again, San?" Brittany asked as she placed a k-cup of hot chocolate in the machine.

Santana rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless. It was impossible for her to be annoyed by Brittany, even though they had gone through the same plan with Kurt several times the day before.

"After everyone gets a few hours sleep we're going to make Romeo give Juliet her guitar lesson for the day. " Santana said.

Brittany nodded as she fumbled with the machine, attempting to get it to start.

"It's going to be us girls in one room and the boys in the other. We are going to get them on the balcony for their lesson. Leave the pushing them out there to me, Brit." Santana said gently.

"Then, once they're out there we're going to lock the balcony door. Simple as that. We'll leave to go on our date and come back a few hours later and let them out." Santana said with a shrug.

Brittany smiled and silently cheered as she finally got the machine to work and it slowly started to percolate and fill her cup. "What if that doesn't work?" Brittany asked.

Santana shrugged. "I don't know. I think it will work though. If I know Berry, and believe me I know Berry, shes not going to be able to stand sitting on that porch without making conversation. Plus that whole 'I like Quinn and she's playing songs for me' rant she went on the other day will probably give her a little confidence boost to make a move. At this point we're not really forcing anything, they're bound to figure this out sometime. We're just giving them a turbo boost to the finish line."

Brittany's eyes brightened. "Like the arrows in Diddy Kong Racing? Or the special shoes in Sonic?"

Santana smiled and leaned forward to press a sweet kiss to Brittany's cheek. "Exactly."

"And that's why Kurt's sleeping with the boys tonight right? Because he's going to make sure none of them answer their phones when Rachel and Quinn start calling." Brittany said, moving to add cream to her hot chocolate.

"Yep, that's exactly why." Santana said. "He may be an asshole like, 99 percent of the time, but he's taking one for the team."

Brittany giggled. "Oh, they're not that bad. Artie's pretty sweet and calm. And Sam only gets crazy when he's riled up by Finn and Puck."

"So you mean Sam's always crazy?" Santana asked.

Brittany nodded and took a sip of her hot chocolate. "Oh, San, this is really good, try some!"

Santana didn't get the chance to respond as Brittany shoved the cup of steaming hot liquid under her lips. Santana choked and sputtered as swallowed the sip Brittany force fed her, the scalding liquid going down her throat.

"Isn't it great San?"

"Yeah!" Santana gasped, thankful that Brittany pulled the cup away.

"Gather round everyone!" Kurt hollered out in the middle of the lobby, a manilla envelope grasped in his hand.

Santana nudged Brittany forward with her hip. "Come on, B, lets get this show on the road."

* * *

Quinn lay flat on her back, arms tucked firmly to her sides and legs pressed together as tight as she could while Rachel snoozed away comfortably to the right of her.

Quinn wanted to punch Santana in the face for putting her in this situation. ("Uh-huh, I'm sleeping with _my _girlfriend.") She was tired. Her eyes were aching with the weight of lost hours of sleep, but there was no way she could with Rachel lying so close to her. Quinn's entire body was tingling from the heat Rachel was emanating, her ears rang with the soft little sighs and grumbles Rachel muttered from dream land.

The bed dipped as Rachel tossed over in her sleep, slapping Quinn with a face full of brown hair. Quinn whimpered as she brushed Rachel's locks off her face, noting that her hair smelled fruity. Like citrus.

Rachel mumbled something incoherent again and scooted her body closer to Quinn's, wrapping an arm around Quinn's waist and placing her head on her shoulder. Rachel shifted her body closer to Quinn and hooked a leg around Quinn's waist, murmuring happily at her new found cuddle buddy.

Quinn's heart fluttered harshly against her rib cage, Rachel's breath tickling across her bicep. She wanted to stay pressed up against the girl, wanted to turn into her and bury her nose in her hair and wrap her own arms around Rachel, but fought against it.

She jumped up suddenly, striding over to open the curtains that covered the sliding door to the balcony of the room.

"What?" Rachel grumbled sleepily, her rest disturbed bu Quinn's sudden movements.

"Wake up, we're due for a guitar lesson." Quinn stated calmly, striding back across the room to pick the two guitar cases up that were leaning against the wall.

"But I was sleeping." Rachel whined, sitting up slightly to paw at her eyes.

Quinn shrugged. "We can skip for today then, if you want to go back to sleep."

"What, no! Can't we just do it later?" Rachel asked, eyes opening more fully.

Quinn pursed her lips as she pretended to think about it. "Hm, nope. I don't think so. It's now or never."

Rachel shot Quinn a withering glare as she slipped out of the bed and stretched, her pink tank top rising up above her yoga pants to reveal a tan sliver of belly. Quinn quickly looked away and coughed. "Glad you see it my way."

"Will you two shut the fuck up?" Santana growled, her voice muffled by the pillow she was lying face down on. "Some people are trying to sleep."

"Quinn's giving me a guitar lesson." Rachel said. "Right now for some reason. So I suggest you get up anyway."

Santana sat up straight and glared at the two women on the opposite side of the room. "No fucking way. You bitches take it outside." She said, nodding to the balcony.

Quinn acquiesced wordlessly and opened the sliding glass door, stepping out onto the small balcony that was outfitted with two lounge chairs and a small circular glass table. "Come on, Berry." She said sternly as she straddled the seat of one.

Rachel scowled and stomped outside, shutting the glass door behind her. "I don't understand why I couldn't finish my nap."

"Discipline." Quinn grunted, pulling her guitar out of her case. _Because God knows I don't have any. _She thought as she started to tune the strings.

Rachel frowned and made her way over to the opposite arm chair, mimicking Quinn's position. She pulled Sam's guitar out of the case and the two silently worked to get their strings tuned together.

"So what are we doing today, Miss Fabray." Rachel said mockingly.

Quinn chortled, shaking her head. "You're grumpy."

Rachel scoffed. "I'm tired because someone woke me up and it's so incredibly difficult to get proper rest in the Mystery Machine."

Quinn's lips tugged up into a small smile at the use of the van's nickname. Angry Rachel was adorable. "We're going to work on the easiest song in the world." She explained.

Rachel frowned as Quinn started to play a familiar chord progression. "Seriously?" Rachel asked. "Time of Your Life?"

Quinn shrugged as she picked through the chords. "Yep. It's one of those songs that ever guitarist knows, despite what style they play. It's a right of passage."

Rachel scoffed as she watched Quinn's fingers move adeptly across the strings. "Yeah? What are some others."

"Stairway to Heaven, Smoke on the Water, Iron Man, Crazy Train (or Sweet Dreams depending on who you ask), Dammit, Blitzkrieg Bop-it goes on for a while." Quinn listed off.

"Those songs are all so cliche." Rachel said, rolling her eyes.

"Yep, they're guitar standards. Like I said, everyone learns them at some point. It's like a Broadway singer without Seasons of Love in their repertoire." Quinn explained with a shrug, going into a few improvised variations from the chord structures.

"God forbid." Rachel said, causing Quinn to laugh.

"I know the songs we're going to start with are going to be really easy but everyone has to start from the ground up. You don't just pick up a guitar and start playing Through the Fire and the Flames." Quinn said.

Rachel quirked an eyebrow at Quinn in almost a perfect impression of the girl. "What?"

"Dragonforce?" Quinn asked.

"When did we start talking about that role playing game with the twenty sided dice?"

Quinn giggled. "No silly, Dragonforce is a band. Through the Fire and the Flames is a really complicated song with a lot of crazy guitar solos, though it's pretty shitty. Actually you should consider yourself lucky that you've never heard it."

"Couldn't you have said something like, Jimi Hendrix or Queen? I know that kind of music. Hell even Metallica or Pantera!" Rachel said. "I know those bands."

"You don't just pick up a guitar and start playing Cowboys From Hell." Quinn corrected.

Rachel frowned. "Cowboys from Hell?"

Quinn just laughed. "Alright Dime Bag, lets get started."

Over their bickering the two girls on the balcony didn't hear the lock on the sliding glass door click into place or notice the curtains falling back into place.

In fact, it took them a little over an hour for them to notice.

"It's locked Quinn." Rachel whined as sfe jimmied the door handle.

"You're not trying hard enough." Quinn said. She placed her guitar case down and scooted Rachel away. She grabbed onto the handle and pulled with all her might, not causing the door to budge at all. She groaned and pulled harder with no result.

"You're not trying hard enough, Quinn." Rachel mocked.

"I think it's locked." Quinn stated with a small pout.

"Why would it be locked?" Rachel asked, worry etched across her face.

Quinn ignored her and banged on the glass panel of the door and tried to look inside. "Brit! Santana! We're locked out!" She yelled as she rattled the handle again.

She frowned when she noticed that the curtain was draped back over the door. "Fuck. They did not." Quinn grumbled.

"I think they did." Rachel said.

Quinn pounded her fist on the glass door. "You two better open this fucking door right now!" Quinn yelled. "I swear to fucking God."

Rachel clasped Quinn's hands and shushed her. "Quinn, I don't think they're in there. Maybe they left to go get lunch or something and forgot we were out here. Brittany was asleep and Santana was only half awake when we came out." Rachel offered hopefully.

Quinn frowned. She wasn't sure about Santana, but she knew Brittany would never do something so rude on purpose. Rachel was possibly right. She patted at her pants pocket to pull her phone out so she could call Brittany and frowned when she noticed that her pockets were empty.

"Fucking shit, I left it charging on the nightstand." Quinn groaned. "Do you have your phone, Rachel?"

Rachel slipped her hand into the pocket of her pants and pulled it out, but frowned at the screen. "1% battery." She grumbled.

"Quick, call Brittany or Santana!" Quinn demanded, her voice panicked. Rachel sighed, the phone already pressed to her ear and ringing.

"Hello?" Santana's voice answered, snickering.

"Santana where are you?"

"Britts and I went to go get lunch and I'm taking her to go see a movie." Santana said. "What's up?"

"Quinn and I are locked on the balcony."

"How did that happen?" Santana asked, her feigned ignorance surrendered by the amusement in her tone.

"You did this on purpose!" Rachel gasped.

"What, no! Why would you ever think that?" Santana asked.

"Santana Lopez you come unlock this door right now!" Rachel shouted into the phone.

Santana didn't answer and she was about to scream, when the phone vibrated in her hand signaling that it had died.

"Fu-uck." Rachel whined as she dropped the useless device onto the table.

"What?" Quinn asked.

"They're on a date." Rachel said. "They won't be back for a few hours. And my phone is dead."

"Shit." Quinn said. She flopped down to sit on the lounge chair and rubbed at her forehead. "Well, I guess we're stuck out here."

Rachel sat down on the opposite chair and leaned back into. "At least its nice out today." She offered in a feebile attempt to find the best of the bad situation. Rachel Berry was ever the pessimist.

Quinn sighed. "Yeah, I guess."

The two girls sat in silence. Quinn contemplated throwing herself off the balcony as the two girls found the situation more and more uncomfortable without the added buffer of guitar lessons. She wished that Rachel would take out her guitar and just practice, but she knew the girls fingers had taken a beating and probably just wanted to rest them for a little.

"Uh..." Rachel interrupted the awkward silence. "You never told me your other favorite bands."

Quinn looked up. Rachel was lying back in the chair as she chewed nervously on a plump pink lip, dark locks framing her head in a messy halo and her bright brown eyes practically glowing.

"Which one's have I told you again?" Quinn asked, trying to look away from the beauty in front of her but failing miserably.

"My Chemical Romance and Saves the Day." Rachel said.

"Hm." Quinn muttered. "Guess the other two."

"Give me a hint!" Rachel demanded, her brown eyes burning intensely. Quinn couldn't help but smile at how serious Rachel was about it.

"They're from Chicago." Quinn said.

"Both bands?" Rachel asked.

"Nope."

"Is it...Chicago?" Rachel guessed. Quinn shook her head smiling.

"No. Think of the other two bands I've talked to you about." Quinn said.

Rachel racked her brain from bands from Chicago that were similar to My Chemical Romance and Saves The Day. She couldn't come up with anything though, she didn't know too much about the history of the bands she'd been shown over the past few weeks.

"I don't know, another hint. Please?" Rachel asked, pouting.

Quinn chuckled at the girls puppy dog face. "Um. They're pretty famous, but they haven't been around for a couple of years."

Rachel frowned, feeling closer to the answer but not coming up on it.

"If you admit defeat I'll tell you." Quinn said.

Rachel gasped. "Never!"

Quinn giggled. "Okay then."

Rachel thought harder about popular bands along the lines of My Chemical Romance and Saves The Day that haven't released anything for a few years.

"Oh!" Rachel called out excitedly. "That one band! The one with the guy and the...the...his penis pictures were leaked on the internet!"

Quinn laughed. "Yeah."

"I can't remember what they're called." Rachel said with a small frown.

"Fa-"

"Don't! Don't tell me!" Rachel yelled."Um, oh yeah! Fall Out Boy!"

Quinn smiled and shook her head yes. "Yep."

Rachel beamed proudly. "Why do you like them so much? From what I gather bands like My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy are kind of emo, and you're in a heavier pop punk band."

Quinn shrugged. "I grew up listening to those bands. They were both so original and different compared to the scenes they came from. They got me listening to other bands, and while I found a lot of great ones I couldn't really find anything like those two. I know a lot of people make fun of them, but whatever right? Your favorite bands your favorite band, and both of those bands write songs that mean something to me. They meant something to me when I was 13 and they mean something to me still, 10 years later."

Rachel nodded. "I totally understand. Funny Girl has been my favorite movie since before I could even understand what the characters were _saying. _As I grew older it stuck with me, and now that I'm an adult I find that I can relate with it way more."

Quinn nodded. "Yeah. They're not exactly popular in this scene per se, but I've figured out that anyone who tries to tell me that they hate them completely is either lying or hasn't given them a real chance."

Rachel nodded and the two fell into a more comfortable silence, Rachel finding a new respect for Quinn and Quinn feeling content to talk to someone who understood where she was coming from.

"I..um, so you kind of ask me a lot of questions about myself." Quinn said. "But I don't know that much about you." Quinn wasn't sure exactly where this question was coming from. It was true that she didn't know much besides the basics of Rachel, but she had been trying to push the other girl away.

Rachel frowned at Quinn's statement, realizing that Quinn was right. It was completely unlike her to not talk about herself constantly to someone, she was sure that Puck knew her entire life story. But when she talked with Quinn it was her asking Quinn a lot of questions.

"Well, " Rachel said, clearing her throat. "What would you like to know?"

Quinn shrugged. "I don't know. What would you like me to know?"

Rachel smiled softly at Quinn and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Well, I was born in New York City. My mom gave me up in order to be able to perform on Broadway, and I was adopted by my two loving fathers. We lived in a nice neighborhood in Queens. My fathers got me addicted to show tunes pretty young, and I knew I wanted to be just like Barbra.

Um, I didn't have many friends growing up. Most of my time was dedicated to dance, acting, and music lessons. Besides, no one wanted to talk to the over eager girl with two fathers. While I love my dads, puberty was an incredibly awkward time for the three of us. I had to learn a lot of things from the school's guidance counselor, and discovered a lot of things as I went. I still shudder every time I remember the day where I wanted to go swimming on a hot July day when I had my period, and my dad trying to instruct me how to put a tampon in from the other side of the bathroom door, using the little booklet in the box as a map." Rachel said with a shutter. Quinn smiled.

"High School was pretty horrible. I was captain of the Glee club which meant I was the prime target for the jocks and cheerleaders. I'd get stuffed into lockers, thrown into dumpsters, and had slushies chucked at me everyday. By the time I was a senior and somehow managed to become friends with Santana Lopez and sort of dated the captain of the football team, it had pretty much stopped, but that was it. I had those two. And the reason Rick and I never actually dated was because he was too popular to be hanging around a loser like me."

Quinn frowned, ire brewing in her stomach for the kids that had made Rachel's life hell back then.

"Uh, my sort of not really boyfriend Rick and I broke it off when I didn't want to leave New York to go to California with him. He thought I was being selfish even though he knew that it had been my dream since I was 3, and that we could actually _be _together there because no one would know that I was a loser. It was devastating to lose him but I knew that I had to let him go if I wanted my dreams to come true. Santana and I started to go to school at NYU, her in the school of business and me at Tisch. I made a few more friends there and even started to get roles in small off Broadway productions.

Finally my mom sought me out once my name started to generate buzz with this small show I was work shopping for. Our reunion was met with disdain from my fathers, but I was on cloud 9. Mom never got any huge roles, exactly, but she had played a number of great supporting roles in a bunch of my favorite shows.

It was great until my senior year, when I was offered the role of Sally in Cabaret. My mom became green with envy when she found out she was my understudy. She didn't tell me that she had tried out for that same part, and I guess the shame of coming in second place was too much for her. She turned down the role, moved away from New York. She told me she never wanted to speak to me again and that she never was or could be my mother, despite giving birth to me."

Quinn's eyes widened in horror. "That's the most immature thing I've ever heard, and I have been around Finn and Puck 24/7 for the last few years."

Rachel smiled sheepishly. "It was heart breaking, of course. It wasn't my fault. I didn't know that she had tried out for the part at all, though she knew I did. Of course if I had found out she had come in second I would have turned down the role and let her have it."

"That's bullshit Rachel." Quinn said firmly. "She's your _mom. _She should have been happy for you. Sure she might have more experience but obviously it doesn't mean she's better than you. But instead of being caring and supportive she crawled away with her tail between her legs."

Rachel sniffled, a rogue tear escaping down her face. "It's okay now. It hurt like hell at the time, but I didn't let it get me down. I took that pain and put it into my performance and won a Tony."

Quinn nodded, pulling her pack of cigarettes out of her back pocket and lighting one up.

"Ugh, of course you forget your phone but you remember _those." _Rachel chortled.

Quinn shrugged as she lit up a cigarette and placed one between her lips. "Whatever. Go on."

Rachel sighed. "Um, well obviously after Cabaret ended I wanted to try to take over Hollywood. I auditioned for a whole bunch of roles but never got any of them due to my looks. It was hard. Hollywood is way different than Broadway. But I kept going and finally got my first big role in Decaying Hearts, which turned out to be the biggest flop of the world."

Quinn shrugged. "Yeah, but you get your second chance with this new part, right?"

Rachel nodded. "Hopefully." She said, her eyes focused and distant.

Quinn felt her heart tug for the girl. She knew Rachel had what it takes to make it, she was talented and determined and had already won a Tony for Christ's sake, but she couldn't help melting at the sad look on Rachel's face.

"Tell me about your life." Rachel finally said, her voice quiet.

Quinn paled. "I don't...it's not a fun story." She said.

Rachel looked up, her eyes sad and defeated but not wanting to be rude and pry. "Okay."

Quinn watched as the girl turned away and folded into herself and sighed, not able to deny Rachel anything.

"Um, I was born in Columbus. The Fabrays were old money, my dad inheriting everything from his dead father who was the son of the owner of some big banking firm. My mom had a pretty big inheritance, too, she was the heiress to some chain of burger joints.

I have a sister, Franny. She was a few years older than me and was the absolute model of perfection. Naturally beautiful, incredibly smart, head cheerleader, volunteered at our church a lot, talented, well mannered. She was Daddy's little girl. I was expected to follow in her foot prints exactly, step for step. Of course, I was never anything like that. As a kid, I was kind of fat. Dirty blonde hair, needed glasses, the ugliest nose you have ever seen. I got made fun of a lot in school, too. My friends were my books. I had perfect marks in school, but of course it wasn't enough for my parents. It honestly felt like they hated me.

Eventually, a few years after Franny graduated, I had enough. I had just finished middle school and we were moving to a new town. I begged my parents to let me dye my hair and get my nose done. They were thrilled, mom made an appointment right away. She even offered to make me one to get lipo, but I declined."

Rachel gasped quietly, already feeling her heart break for Quinn. Quinn laughed self deprecatingly, this wasn't even the _sad _part.

"When school started I looked perfect, a little model Fabray. I tried out for the cheer leading squad and made it. I started volunteering at our new church, I was head of the celibacy club. I had straight A's and everything. But it _still _wasn't enough for my parents. The things Franny had been praised and rewarded for where now expected from me. They didn't _care _that I was following in Franny's footsteps because as far as they were concerned that was a given.

At that point, I was just desperate for someone to love me. My parents were horrible at showing it. Sophomore year I dyed my hair green, pierced my nose and quit the cheer leading squad to start hanging out with this group of girls called the Skanks. They got me into drinking and I starte doing drugs, which I was able to afford since my parents would give me all the money I wanted just to shut me up. I started sleeping with a lot of guys, even bringing them home. They were meaningless hook ups, I didn't feel anything at all from them. I already kind of knew I preferred girls but I had never been with one. I just wanted to get my parents to react to something that I did for once.

Still, my rebellious streak didn't matter, my parents didn't care. They didn't _notice _until my grades started going down. Now, I had been spanked as a kid when I misbehaved. You know, stuff like I stayed up past my bedtime to read or got dirt on my church clothes, but when my grades started going down Dad started swinging."

Rachel closed her eyes in order to try and fight back the tears. How the Hell did Quinn survive this?

"It was attention. And I wanted it. I started skipping school all together to go take E and hook up with random guys at the skate park. I'm really surprised I didn't end up with an STD.

Eventually at this party, I got pretty fucked up. I had been drinking and snorted coke for the first and only time. I was covered in bruises since the truancy officer had showed up at my house that morning. I didn't want to live anymore. I locked myself in the bathroom and found a razor. That's when Puck broke down the door. It was his party and it had gotten out of control. He thought I was fucking someone in there, but he found me on the ground passed out with my right wrist bleeding. He drove me to the hospital and stayed until I woke up."

Rachel couldn't hold back the tears anymore, she was practically sobbing. Quinn had her eyes closed tightly. She wouldn't be able to carry on if she saw Rachel crying. She was itching to go comfort the other girl.

"They gave me a few stitches and sent me home. Puck decided to take me back to his place since I refused to go back to my house. We talked, we talked about a lot of things, and he convinced me to stop hanging out with the Skanks and start speaking with the school's therapist. And by convinced, he told me that I owed it to him since he saved my life.

So I did. I started going back to school. I stopped hanging out with the Skanks. I stopped drinking and doing drugs all together and started talking to the school counselor. It had only been a few months, I brought my grades up quick enough to even out my average so I wouldn't have to repeat Sophomore year. My parents were satisfied. They started ignoring me again and I spent more time with Puck. Puck started teaching me how to play guitar and introduced me to Finn, Matt, Brittany, and Ashley."

"Uh, Ashley was the girl that made me realize I was a lesbian. I had a lot of sexual experience with guys at that point, but I never felt as much with them then I did with a simple kiss from Ashley. We started dating pretty soon after that.

The guidance counselor convinced me that I needed to tell my parents about it. I didn't want to at all. My parents were super conservative Christians, but she told me it was the only way to accept myself. So one night before my parents could crack into one of their expensive bottles of scotch I told them that I was gay and had a girlfriend. That didn't go over too well. Dad started screaming about how my sinful choices were tarnishing the Fabray family reputation and he hit me a few times. Mom didn't do anything, just watched and poured herself a tall glass of scotch. She drank the entire time, throwing in a few snide comments about how disgusting it was here and there. Finally, Dad just told me that I had to leave. That he wouldn't have someone who was such a disgrace live under his roof. He offered to pay for one of those straight camps because he said he still loved me or some bullshit, but I decided to just leave. I knew he didn't love me at all. I grabbed my things and walked to Puck's house.

Puck's family took me in no questions asked and despite the fact that I didn't have my Mom and Dad anymore, I felt better. Free. I had Puck's family, I had Finn, Matt, Brittany, and eventually Sam and Kurt. I was very much in love with Ashley. Things were good for a really long time. We started the band and that took up so much time. It was a really positive thing. Between school, friends, Ashley, and the band, I found myself. I started reading again, found this whole scene of music that made _sense. _

After we graduated we went on our first tour that summer. It was only supposed to be for two weeks. Finn had gotten into OSU, and Puck and I had gotten full time jobs with a family friend of the Puckerman's who owned a small landscaping company with promise of promotions and a career. The tour turned into another, into another, until Finn dropped out of OSU and Puck and I resigned our position. People _really _were responding to our music and touring was incredible. It may have been a stupid decision, but how many chances do you get to live your dreams like that?

As we started getting bigger and touring more Ashley and I started getting more serious. Finn's grandpa died and left him his house. The band, plus Kurt and Ashley moved in. She'd come on tour, help Kurt and Brittany out as needed. But the more serious it got, the more...I don't know. I pushed her away. I wasn't sure how to show...I don't...it was hard for me I guess. She finally flipped a shit on me one night in Cleveland. Said that she was going to propose if I wasn't so dense. She threw the ring at me and ran away. Hopped on a flight home, moved out of the house immediately, and left me a letter about how if I wasn't so much like my parents things would have been different. She went off to California, tried to get into Berkeley. I don't know if she made it. I haven't seen or heard from her since. Anyway, that was about a year ago. It really hurt at the time but I'm over it. Channeled it all into our last record and touring." Quinn finished.

"Quinn." Rachel croaked out, her voice harsh with unshed tears. "I can't believe you survived all of that."

Quinn shrugged. "I'm fine now, Rachel. I have everything I need. I have my band, my friends, my life. I don't have to deal with my parents or family anymore. I'm happy now."

Rachel stood up and threw herself at Quinn, wrapping her arms firmly around her waist. She buried her head under the crook of Quinn's chin and sobbed. "I'm so glad you're still here." Rachel whimpered.

Quinn slowly wrapped her arms around Rachel's shoulders and let her head fall against Rachel's messy brown locks. "Me too, Rach." She murmured, soaking in the moment.

They stood in their embrace for a while, Rachel's sobs slowly dying off into soft tears.

The sliding glass door clicked open and Santana and Brittany popped their heads out. "We're back ladies." Santana said, a devilish smile spread across her face.

Quinn and Rachel turned to look up. Rachel stepped back and wiped her face. Quinn felt her heart pang as she let her go.

"Are we interrupting something?" Santana asked.

Brittany, sensing that something heavy just happened slapped Santana's elbow. "I'm sorry we locked you out here guys. We didn't remember that you had stepped out here."

Rachel rubbed at her sore red eyes. "It's okay Brittany." She said quietly.

Brittany smiled sympathetically at the girls. "If you guys want to come out to dinner, we're going to IHOP."

Quinn nodded. "That sounds good Britt." She stepped forward to the hotel room, followed by Rachel who reached out and grasped Quinn's hand tightly. Quinn gasped at the connection, but didn't fight it, and she laced their fingers together as they went inside.

Quinn and Rachel hardly spoke to each other for the rest of the night, but they remained close and that night when they went to sleep, Quinn didn't shrink away when Rachel cuddled up to her.

* * *

**A/N 2: **Dammit, that was hard to write. Sometimes I feel like Quinn gets the brunt of everything, in canon on Glee and in most fics but I feel that it's necessary to her character. Writing Quinn without including some form of tragedy in her story line is like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without any bread. The flavors there but there is nothing to hold it together. At least that's my opinion. I think Quinn is an extroadinary character with such vast potential that the writers waste on plot devices and public service announcements.

That explanation some how turned into a rant, I apologize.

Anyway I hope this makes up for 14 chapters of cockteasing and running in circles though I don't apologize for it, as I feel that it's a realistic aspect of their relationship.

From here on out they'll find themselves crashing into each other instead of skirting that line. And that's all I have to say about what's to come!


	16. Chapter 16

Rachel opened her eyes with a satisfied sigh and a lazy smile playing at her lips. She wasn't sure why she felt so warm and secure but she wanted to stay this way forever. She tried to stretch her arms out over her head when something tightened around her stomach and someone groaned in protest in her ear.

"Quinn?" Rachel whispered, surprised. She was pretty sure they had fallen asleep at separate ends of the bed, how did Quinn end up spooning her.

"Sleep." Quinn groaned, her voice hoarse with sleep. Rachel smiled, pushing herself firmly back into Quinn who readjusted her body to get maximum body contact. Butterflies erupted in her stomach when she felt Quinn's lips against the back of her neck quirk up into an unconscious smile.

Rachel glanced up at the clock, who's neon green numbers flashed "7:00 am" through the darkness of the room. It was way too late for her to be sleeping in, but she didn't know how Quinn would react when she awoke and wanted to make the most of this unexpected cuddle session.

Yesterday had been emotionally draining. She had bared her past, her _soul _for Quinn to see, reliving all the pain and in response, Quinn had shared all of her pain with Rachel. It broke Rachel's heart just to have heard it, she wasn't sure how Quinn was able to get through all of that stuff. It caused the reserved space in Rachel's heart for Quinn to swell to that point where things were about to burst. She didn't just want Quinn to fill that space, she needed her to after what happened yesterday.

"Rach?" Quinn tiredly groaned into Rachel's neck as she stretched her back and flexed her arms across Rachel's abdomen.

"Good morning, Quinn." Rachel whispered with baited breath, just waiting for Quinn to jump back in surprise when she realized how close they were.

She wasn't sure if she was relieved or shocked when Quinn settled back into her and yawned. "Good morning, Rachel." She responded. She turned her head to look at the clock behind her. "Jeez, 7 am. Shouldn't you be wide awake right now, running scales and dancing around the room like a Disney princess?" Quinn teased gently, her arms loosening around Rachel slightly.

"I'm skipping it today." Rachel stated. "I've learned on this tour to seize every opportunity I can, and the opportunity of sleeping in a comfortable bed is a worth forgoing my morning routine." Rachel explained, purposely leaving out the part about seizing the opportunity of cuddling with Quinn.

"Are you always so wordy in the morning?" Quinn asked with amusement as she stifled a yawn.

"Yes."

"Alright then."

Quinn yawned again and nuzzled her head back into the pillow. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me last night." She said, unwrapping her arms from Rachel. "I'm not usually a cuddler."

Rachel frowned and felt her heart speed up in desperation. "No, it's alright. I wasn't uncomfortable at all." Rachel said, her voice pleading as she flipped on to her back. She looked up and was charmed to see Quinn blushing with heavy eyes fixed on her.

"Shut the fuck up!" Santana groaned from the bed opposite of them, haphazardly tossing a pillow at the general direction of their bed and successfully ending their moment.

"You deserve it for locking us out there for hours yesterday." Quinn defended with a pout.

Santana just groaned and Rachel smiled as she slightly shifted her body to Quinn in hopes to encourage her.

"Whatever." Santana said, muffled by her pillow.

It was quiet in the room, save for Brittany's soft snoring and the sound of Rachel's heart racing in her ears. She wanted to cuddle with Quinn again. She wanted to make the girl hers.

She was relieved when Quinn's rolled on to her side and an arm wrapped gently around her waist.

"Are you sure this is okay?" Quinn asked, her voice quiet. Rachel noted the hesitant tone and wondered if Quinn was actually nervous. She smiled and placed an encouraging hand on the forearm resting against her stomach.

"It's fine, Quinn." She said, resting her head on the crook of Quinn's elbow. Quinn let out a satisfied sigh and nuzzled into the embrace and the two girls gently drifted off to sleep again. Rachel's last conscious thought being that she wanted to wake up like this every morning.

All too soon, there was a loud banging on the door. "GET UP LADIES!" A loud voice yelled as the banging continued.

Rachel's eyes ripped open and she shot up, looking at the door in panic. "What's going on!" She shrieked.

Quinn scrubbed her eyes with the palm of her hand and groaned, sitting up along side Rachel. "I don't know." She said before hesitantly departing the warm bed. She padded across the room and opened the door to Sam and Artie who were smiling devilishly.

"Kurt told us to wake y'all up." Artie explained. "We're leaving in an hour."

"Okay." Quinn said, nodding in understanding as she slammed the door in the two boys faces.

Brittany groaned. "What's wrong? Is the zombie apocalypse happening?"

"No, guys, we have to get up and get ready. We're checking out in an hour." Quinn explained before disappearing into the bathroom.

Rachel crossed her arms across her chest and pouted. That definitely put a damper on their morning. She got up and pulled a pair of jeans and a recently purchased Bowser Jr. shirt out of her suitcase and quickly threw them on, then pulled her hair into a pony tail and applied a light coating of makeup. She had showered the night before, and really she had learned that at these types of venues she didn't need to dress up so much.

That story, of course, would be different when they got to California where the paparazzi would be following her everywhere.

She groaned and threw her cosmetic bag back into her suitcase as Brittany and Santana finally arose from the dead.

"What's got your panties in a twist, short stuff? Did Quinn leave you high and dry last night?" Santana asked as she stretched her arms above her head.

Rachel shook her head. "No. I'm just worried about LA."

Santana scratched at her stomach and yawned. "Too much thinking. Stop. Where's the coffee machine?"

Rachel shrugged. "The bathroom. Quinn's in there taking a shower I think."

On cue, Quinn walked out of the bathroom with her pink hair dripping wet and her sleep shorts and shirt clinging to her form, steam pouring out behind her. She looked absolute angelic as she entered the room.

"Finally." Santana groaned and walked into the bathroom, the sounds of her fumbling with the coffee machine enveloping the room.

"I was in there for ten fucking minutes." Quinn groaned, walking over to her suitcase and pulling out her clothes for the day. Rachel's eyes examined the matching grey and yellow set of batman underwear and blushed furiously before turning away.

"I'm going to bring the guitars down to the trailer and maybe bring a few muffins up for us to eat while you ladies get ready!" Rachel exclaimed, getting up and slipping her shoes on. "I'll be back in a few!"

Quinn gaped at the door that Rachel had disappeared behind with a harsh slam. "What just happened?"

Brittany stood up and yawned. "I think your Batman panties turned her on." Brittany said.

"What?" Quinn asked, dumbfounded. "Why would-no."

Santana emerged from the bathroom with two styrofoam cups of steaming hot coffee. "Batman underwear? Are you a 5 year old boy?" She said with a harsh laugh.

Quinn blushed furiously and frowned. "Shut the fuck up Santana." She grumbled before stomping her way back into the bathroom and slammed the door closed.

"I think our plan worked, maybe?" Brittany said quietly, accepting the cup Santana handed off to her.

Santana nodded with a smile. "Yeah, hopefully. They were cuddling last night."

"I know!" Brittany exclaimed, a large smile splitting her face. "It was so cute!"

Santana nodded in agreement and drank deeply from her own cup.

"For the record, Batman underwear is totally sexy, Santana." Brittany said nonchalantly as she drank her own coffee.

"I...okay." Santana said, making a mental note to look up where to buy some of her own.

* * *

They had been at the venue for a few hours, doing interviews and taking pictures with various magazines and highly popular blogs when finally they had a little break. Quinn snuck out the side door and lit a cigarette up, greedily inhaling the smoke into her lungs. She looked out at the vans that were parked in the large alley and up at the friendly blue sky, wondering about what had happened the past two days. She had opened up to Rachel and lo and behold, didn't explode while doing it. And then they cuddled for crying out loud, and it had all felt so right. It was like a shock to her nervous system and she wasn't sure how she functioned completely without the other girl before. She had _never _felt that way with Ashley and they had been together for years, and somehow that didn't seem so terrifying anymore.

And, like a cherry on top of a sundae, she was pretty sure Rachel was interested too.

She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't notice Finn had joined her until he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"You alright, Quinn?" He asked, concern etched across his boyish face.

Quinn smiled and shook her head, her pink and blonde bangs blurring in her face. "Yeah Finn, just thinking about stuff."

"Happy stuff, right?" He asked.

"Yes." Quinn confirmed.

"Phew," Finn said, exhaling and letting drooping his shoulders slightly. Quinn had never noticed how much of a cartoon Finn was, with his gangly body, chubby face, and wildly expressive mannerisms. If anyone else acted that way, she'd probably hate them, but with Finn it was somehow endearing.

"You had that all lost, dreamy expression on your face, and I mean I know that means you're thinking about happy stuff it's just that I wasn't sure. It's been so long since I've seen you look like that." Finn explained with a small grin.

Quinn flicked the ash of the end of her cigarette and leaned against the brick wall behind her. "I guess it has." She said before placing the cigarette between her lips.

"I mean, this tour has been incredible." Finn continued. "The kids that have been coming out every night are crazy about us, and we've been on fire pretty much every night. Plus, all that stuff with Rachel has been pulling in a lot of new followers on Twitter and Facebook and everything. It's insane."

Quinn nodded her head slightly in agreement, Rachel's warm brown eyes and bright smile burning in her mind like a movie frame.

"I mean, I know you and Puck and everyone else are really good at handling all this stuff, but do you think it's kind of overwhelming?" Finn asked as he dragged the tip of his Vans across the pavement.

"Not really." Quinn said. She stood up straight and dropped her cigarette to the ground, digging into it with her heel to put it out. "Why do you think that it's overwhelming?"

Finn shrugged. "It's just, it's a lot of attention. And like, I know we're still us but there's a lot of people that wouldn't have even thought about listening to a band like us that are now watching us like hawks, and it's all because we have some kind of movie star hanging around us." Finn frowned as he searched for the words to continue. "And I mean, I don't know. Is it going to turn into that fifteen minutes of fame everyone talks about, or is something big going to come out of this? She's going to be leaving after this tour and we'll probably never see her again."

"Hey," Quinn defended. "Rachel's our friend, right? I'm sure we'll see her again."

"Okay and...like I think Rachel's awesome and she's friendly and funny once you get past the tantrums." Finn said. "But like, is she actually our friend or is she just acting like that because we're there and it's convenient? Like when we go on these tours, there's a lot of super friendly and awesome people that we hang out with just because we're travelling and playing shows together for the next few months, but then we don't talk to them until we book another show with their band. But with Rachel, when it's over it's over right? It's not like our worlds are going to overlap anytime soon."

Quinn frowned as she processed what Finn said. "I...I don't know Finn." She whispered.

"I mean, whatever. It's not a big deal, and seriously if we get big just because we're riding her coattails and the buzz surrounding this movie, then I don't really want that. I mean, we all agreed that we're just doing this stuff because we love it."

"Yeah." Quinn said, as she bit her lip and nodded absently. She wasn't really listening to what Finn was saying anymore. She was still stuck on that part about convenience.

Was that what last night was? Did Rachel honestly care or was just Quinn a place holder?

_Fuck._ Quinn thought.

"Hey, I'm going to go...inside." Quinn said, interrupting Finn mid rant. She walked into the building and wanted to scream when she found Kurt approaching her, with Rachel in his wake carrying two guitars.

"Just the person I was looking for!" Kurt exclaimed. "Look, you don't have much time until the interview with Pupfresh and really now's the only chance you're going to get to give Rachel her lesson before the show starts."

Quinn looked at Rachel, who was smiling expectantly at her and felt her stomach start flipping with uncertainty. "Um, yeah. Okay."

Kurt smiled at the two of them with a wild look in his eye before spinning on his heel and walking off. Rachel stepped forward and handed Quinn her guitar and the two girls stood for a moment in an awkward silence.

* * *

"Um, I...it's warm today. How about we go up on the roof?" Quinn offered, forcing herself to stay casual.

Rachel hugged Sam's guitar to her chest and nodded. "That sounds great!" She exclaimed, entirely too overeager.

They both walked through the labyrinth that was the venue in silence, heavy footsteps echoing around the concrete walls. The air between them was thick with tension, as if someone had cut open the two girl's chests and let all of their unsaid words seep out. The lip tugged between Rachel's teeth and the erratic fluttering of Quinn's heart was the chemical reaction to their situation.

They reached the top of the staircase and Quinn opened the door to a bath of warmth and the cacophony of the small city coming from the street below.

"Tune up." Quinn instructed, her voice low and calm as she walked on to the concrete roof. Rachel followed quietly and mimicked Quinn who plopped down against an air conditioning unit. They set their cases down, parallel, and started their pre-lesson routine.

The tense silence was eating away at Rachel, causing her to become more nervous than she usually found herself in Quinn's presence. She wasn't sure why Quinn suddenly had her walls up. Sure, she had always been quiet but her sudden shyness was a far cry from the bitchy, aloof air she wore before.

Learning all of that stuff about Quinn had been eye opening, and Rachel had though it would be a step in the right direction, and as far as she had known had been up until now. For the love of Barbra, they were tangled together when they woke up!

"So how are those chords coming along?" Quinn asked softly, her voice barely registering over the sound of the E major scale Rachel had been working through.

Rachel shook her head. "What's wrong, Quinn?" She asked. She had her own priorities, and besides, with the anxiety swirling through her blood stream this lesson was bound to be forgotten.

Quinn looked up at Rachel, an eyebrow arched over guarded golden eyes. "Why do you think somethings wrong?" She asked, defensively. Rachel didn't miss the slight sarcasm dripping from her words, either.

_Bad move, Fabray. _Rachel thought immediately identifying it for what it was, a defense mechanism.

"Don't do that." Rachel stated, ignoring the way Quinn's eyes widened in shock. "I _know _there's something wrong."

Quinn face fell, her lips balling into a tight line. "Nothing is wrong, Rachel." She said forcefully, as if trying to convince herself. "Can we please get on with the lesson."

Rachel shook her head. "No, Quinn. I thought that after what we told each other yesterday that we could be considered friends. Please don't turn your back on me now. Don't shut me out." Rachel pleaded, her brown eyes brimming with emotion. She realized she was being a tad bit dramatic, but she didn't exactly care. That was just a part of who she was, and this was an important moment.

Quinn laughed, humourously. "Why? Why does it matter?" She asked, her tone sharpening. Rachel's face dropped in confusion. Why was Quinn being so _mean?_

"Quinn-" Rachel started, an explanation heavy on her tongue. Quinn ignored her and pressed on.

"Why is it so important for us to be _friends? _What does it matter. After this tour you'll be gone. You're going to go film your stupid movie and win a bunch of awards and all of this will be some distant memory." Quinn gestured wildly. "You won't think about Puck or this or _me _ever again. So please. Let's just grit our teeth and get through this."

Rachel suddenly felt light headed and even more confused than she was a minute ago. "Are you referring to the next month or the lesson?" She asked. Quinn huffed and placed her guitar back into the case, crossing her arms across her chest but not answering.

"What makes you think any of that is true?" Rachel asked. What Quinn was saying was ridiculous, absolutely absurd!

"This whole experience has been eye opening. I've learned so much, especially from you, and honestly I thought I've made deep connections with all of you. I would never forget Puck, or Brittany, or Kurt. But I definitely would never forget _you _Quinn." Rachel said. "Why would you even think that?"

Quinn shook her head in disbelief, blinking her eyes. "It's not worth it." She muttered.

Realization hit Rachel in her chest like a freight train. This was Quinn's low self esteem. These walls, all of the rude comments, the fights, it was all the ghosts of her past coming back to take the reins on her current life. This was the product of her parents throwing her away, and of Ashley walking out on a long steady relationship without looking back. It made perfect sense as much as it didn't.

Why would Quinn be so upset by the idea of Rachel leaving her behind?

All of these things zipped through Rachel's brain as silence blanketed them. As the seconds ticked on Rachel could physically feel the tension pouring from Quinn, rocking tearing through her own chest. She ignored it as she carefully scripted what she was going to say next. It needed to be perfect. It needed to convey everything that Rachel felt, and it needed to reassure Quinn that she was a permanent fixture in Rachel's life no matter what.

Finally, Quinn stood up. She slammed the lid of her guitar case down and locked it. Rachel cleared her throat as Quinn turned to leave, standing up with confidence.

"I find it absurd that you think that I would just be able to walk away from all of this, from _you _so easily. Quinn, you're simply unforgettable."

Rachel's words were soft, but hung heavily above the chaos of the city below. They both stood on their marks, Rachel watched as Quinn's shoulders quivered and pulled back, almost as if Rachel's words had drawn them back like a bow, before slowly releasing with a shaky whimper. She turned around, slowly, eyes shimmering and chest heaving as she unsuccessfully fought back tears. Rachel had to fight off her own, her breath catching in her throat. She had never seen anything so remarkably beautiful as Quinn was in that moment, her soft hazel eyes swimming behind a flood of emotions.

Without warning, Quinn rushed placed her guitar on the ground and rushed forward, her rough fingertips cupping Rachel's cheek and threading through brown locks. Before Rachel could even fathom what was happening, Quinn crashed their lips together. It was gentle, yet the motion seeping through was relentless. Quinn's lips were soft, full, and warm as they slid against Rachel's, rough fingers stroking a tanned cheek reverently.

Rachel's head spun, everything about this was so dizzying yet so _right. _After the initial shock wore off she let herself fall into Quinn, snaking her arms around her neck and pushing herself up against the taller girl. Quinn tried to pull away, but Rachel followed, relentlessly pressing her lips against Quinn's. Rachel felt her lips curl up slightly when Quinn whimpered softly into her mouth.

Suddenly, as their lips met once again, fitting like puzzle pieces, Rachel realized how hard she was falling for this girl. Her heart throbbed and electricity shot through her veins. She had never felt so clear, so alive, as she had in that moment.

But as soon as she felt her heart soar, it crashed to the ground as Quinn ripped away from Rachel's embrace, stumbling back slightly as she distanced herself.

"I..you- I have to go." Quinn stammered, her eyes tightly closed before turning around and bolting down the stairs.

Rachel sat shaking, tears quietly pouring from her eyes and leaving hot wet streaks down her face. Everything had just came together and broke apart all at the same time.

* * *

**A/N: **Well here's that update. I know it's angsty, but everything will be settled in time. I hope you all enjoyed it. Reviews, questions, and constructive critiscm is always appreciated!

Also, pupfresh is a real music blog that's pretty awesome and covers a lot of stuff in the genre Bowser Jr. would be in (if they existed). Check them out if you haven't heard of them!


	17. Chapter 17

Quinn's head was spinning as she replayed the things Rachel had said to her. Stupid, meaningful things that she had been waiting to here since...forever. Stupid words that made Quinn throw caution to the wind and kiss Rachel. She kissed Rachel and Rachel _kissed her back_.

And Quinn ran away.

"I'm a fucking idiot." She muttered to herself as she walked out of the venue.

If Quinn's borderline abusive behavior hadn't pushed her away then running away definitely did.

_God _she could still taste Rachel's lips against hers.

Quinn wasn't sure where she was going as she walked along the busy street. She wasn't sure what city or state she was even in as she stormed down pavement, hands shoved in her pockets and shoulders raised. She wasn't really sure of anything at the moment, other than the slight hint of raspberry chapstick smudged across her lips. She ran her tongue across the scene of the crime every few minutes as if dusting for fingerprints, looking for evidence that it really happened.

She pulled her phone out and looked at the time. 3:30. She was definitely missing that interview. Oh well, Finn and Puck could deal with that. She had about an hour and a half to walk around before the meet and greet, which she wouldn't miss. She wasn't about to become one of those ungrateful band guys that stood up scheduled fan time. Hell, she still felt guilty about blowing everyone off after her skirmish with Puck even though that was her own time.

She sighed and let her shoulders relax. She needed to figure out what the Hell to do. She was still unsure about that whole "convenience" thing that Finn had brought up early, but Goddamn that little actress was convincing. She swiped her tongue across her lips again to remind herself that Rachel had in fact kissed back.

Rachel wanted her at least a little. Maybe not anywhere near the level Quinn was at, but at least she had a fighting chance.

She just...needed to fix whatever it was that she just did.

* * *

Santana and Kurt walked up to the roof with conspiratory smiles smugly split across their faces. Quinn and Rachel were nowhere to be found, and last they knew they were together for their guitar lesson.

To them that meant only one thing: their plan worked.

And while Kurt was slightly annoyed that Quinn blew off the interview, if it meant their plan was a success than he wasn't going to complain.

They were both fully prepared to walk onto the roof and find the girls in one of several compromising positions.

Their smiles immediately wilted when they heard the soft sounds of crying as they stepped onto the roof. Tightly curled in the fetal position was a crying Rachel, with Quinn nowhere to be found.

"Rachel?" Santana asked and bolted forward, kneeling down and placing her hands on Rachel's shoulder. "Rachel are you okay? What the fuck happened?"

Kurt couldn't make out the garbled words Rachel had whined and was pretty sure Santana couldn't either.

"Rachel, sweetie, sit up." Santana cooed in an eerily gentle tone. Kurt was surprised, he didn't think Santana had such a caring side. That only meant one thing, something bad happened.

Rachel complied and sat up, her face red and blotchy and makeup stains smeared across her face. She looked up at Santana and Kurt with wide, red puppy dog eyes and sniffed loudly.

"Honey, what happened?" Kurt asked as he stepped forward.

Rachel was quiet for a moment before her face crumpled and more tears leaked out and she curled up into Santana.

Santana wrapped her arms around Rachel and gently rubbed her back. "Shh, Rachel honey. You're scaring us."

Rachel exhaled shakily and said something, her words muffled by Santana's chest.

"Quinn did what?" Santana asked, anger clearly etching across her face.

"Quinn kissed me and then ran away." Rachel whispered quietly. Kurt wasn't exactly sure he heard her correctly. He exchanged a shock glance with Santana.

"Why did she run away?" Kurt asked quietly, stooping over and offering Rachel the handkerchief he had tucked in his breast pocket.

Rachel sat up from Santana's chest and took it, gripping onto it tightly and dabbing at her eyes. "I don't know. She...we were having her lesson and she was being really mean and I asked her what was wrong. And...and she said that I was just going to forget her and never talk to her again, which is absolutely absurd and I told her so. And then she kissed me and walked away." Rachel sobbed, her chest heaving.

"What the fuck?" Santana asked, her face turning an angry crimson.

Kurt placed a hand on Santana's shoulder. "Hold on, Santana." He said, giving her a calm but stern look. She huffed like a bull but didn't say anything.

"Rachel honey, there's something you need to know about Quinn. And that is that she's an absolute moron." Kurt said.

Rachel just nodded gently and blew her nose into Kurt's hankie. Kurt tried not to grimace as he continued on.

"She gets so overwhelmed with things because she talks to herself in circles. She's intelligent when it comes to everything else, but when it comes to good things she convinces herself that it's never going to happen for her and she doesn't deserve them." Kurt explained. "Can I ask you something?"

Rachel nodded.

"Did you want her to kiss you?"

Rachel bit her lip and shook her head yes, fresh tears welling in her eyes. "Yes, I mean it caught me off guard but it was completely welcomed. I wanted...I'm falling for her Kurt." She confessed in a slurred whine.

Kurt smiled gently. "Quinn's an asshole for running away, but I can guarantee you that she is completely overwhelmed by you being genuine. She's gone through a lot and...I don't know how to explain it. You didn't do anything."

"Damn right my girl didn't do anything." Santana growled.

Rachel nodded and sniffled. "So what do I do?"

"Well we first I'm going to try to find her and make sure she's safe. Then you give her some time to cool down. And then I think you two need to talk." Kurt said.

"Okay." Rachel said. She freed herself from Santana and stood up shakily. She handed Kurt the handkerchief.

"Keep it." He said with a grimace but friendly smile. "I'm going to give you two ladies a chance to am down." Santana looked like she was about to argue. "Nope, don't even. We can't have you murdering anyone. I'm going to go find out where Quinn went." Kurt said before turning around and heading back into the venue.

* * *

Kurt found Puck, Finn, Sam, and a few of the guys from the other bands in the small alley kicking around a hackey sack.

"Hey guys!" Kurt yelled. "Have any of you seen Quinn?"

Everyone muttered their rounds of "Nopes" and "Haven't seen hers" except Finn, who was dead focused on the ball coming at him.

Finn clumsily kicked at the hackey sack and missed. He huffed and picked it up, throwing it back into the circle. "I talked to her like an hour ago before she went in and she skipped the interview." He said as Joe caught the sack on his barefoot and lobbed it between his feet before spinning around and kicking it to Puck. Finn huffed in jealousy as Kurt looked on in horror at Joe's bare feet.

"You are quite the observant step brother." Kurt sighed. "Was she weird when you saw her?"

Finn shrugged and stepped away from the circle to talk to Kurt, sensing this was kind of important. "Um, I mean, she was all daydreamy and stuff." He shrugged and scratched at the back of his neck.

"Did you say anything dumb to her?" Kurt asked.

Finn furrowed his eyebrows and frowned at Kurt. "No, why would you think that?"

"I'm just wondering. You were the last person who saw her before she ran off." Kurt said.

"Well, I mean no. We were talking about the tour, and like how much attention we were getting because of Rachel." Finn stated.

"Rachel? What did you say about her?" Kurt asked, feeling dread turn in his stomach. He knew Finn wasn't too keen on Rachel's presence, even if he was starting to take a liking to her.

"Well, I just...I said something about how she was probably just being our friend because she was on tour with us." Finn said.

"Dude!" Puck yelled, dropping the hackey sack that was just kicked to him and running forward. "You said that? To Quinn?!"

Finn shrugged and winced at Puck's frantic voice and look of worry. "Uh...yeah. What's the big deal?"

Puck looked at Kurt, his eyes pleading. "You know, right?" He asked.

Kurt nodded and sighed. "Yeah I know. And I'm guessing Finn doesn't?"

Sam walked over, too interested on the drama surrounding his friends to play hackey sack. "What's going on?"

"What don't I know?" Finn asked looking in shock between Puck and Kurt.

Puck shook his head. "Did something happen?" He asked Kurt.

"She kissed her and ran off. She's been missing for the past like, oh- hour now." Kurt said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Who kissed who?!" Finn demanded.

"Yeah man, what's going on?" Sam asked.

Puck slammed his hand against one of the brick walls. "Fuuuuuuuuck!" He yelled. "Finn why did you have to say that?"

"Say what?!" Finn demanded. "What's happening!"

"Quinn likes Rachel you fucking idiot!" Puck yelled. "How did you miss that?"

Finn frowned. "Wait, what? She never told me." Finn said. "Why didn't she tell me?"

"Okay, we need to find her." Kurt said through deep breaths. _I manage a traveling band of morons. _He thought to himself as he pulled his phone out and dialed Quinn's number.

Finn turned to Sam. "Did you know that?" He asked.

Sam shrugged. "She never told me, but it was kind of obvious."

"Is everything alright, like...is Quinn okay?" Joe asked, joining the group.

"Shh everyone it's ringing!" Kurt yelled.

"_Hello?" _Quinn's voice came through the phone.

"Quinn!" Kurt yelled as relief washed over him. She was alright. Well, alright enough to answer her phone, which meant she wasn't wandering about the city picking fights with anyone who looked at her wrong.

"_Kurt, I know I missed the interview. Sorry." _Quinn sighed. There was a lot of background noise coming through her end and Kurt was having a hard time hearing her.

"It's okay. Rachel told us what happened. Where are you?" Kurt asked.

There was a shuffling noise, footsteps, a bell, and then silence. _"I don't know. I'm at a Starbucks somewhere."_ Quinn said.

"That could be...anywhere." Kurt said rolling his eyes. "What the Hell, Quinn? What's wrong with you?!" He chastised.

"_I don't know, Kurt. I know I need to get back. Do you think you can come pick me up? I really don't want to talk about it right now." _Quinn pleaded.

"Fine, yeah. I'll come. Just...find out where you are and send me a text." Kurt said.

"_Will do. Thanks."_ Quinn said before hanging up.

Kurt hung up his phone and slipped it back into his pocket. "Well she's alright."

Puck, Sam, and Joe looked relieved. Finn looked vaguely constipated which meant he was confused. "Where is she?" Puck asked.

"At a Starbucks somewhere. She's going to text me when she finds out where it is and then we're going to pick her up in the van." Kurt explained.

Kurt felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out and checked the screen. "Alright, I'm going." He said as he plugged the address Quinn texted him into his phone.

"I'm coming." Puck said.

"Me too!" Finn yelled.

Kurt just rolled his eyes and walked over to the blue van. "Well, come on then." He shouted over his shoulder.

* * *

"Rachel!" Brittany yelled, running onto the roof and scooping the tiny girl up into a tight hug. "What's the matter? Why are you crying?"

Rachel had gotten over the brunt of her tears but she was still misty eyed. After Santana had gotten over her anger she was able to comfort Rachel more appropriately.

"Brittany!" Rachel squeaked, surprised by the sneak attack. Her legs flailed helplessly in the air as Brittany lifted her up.

"Rachel did someone hurt you?" Brittany asked.

"Not intentionally." Rachel said with a sniffle. Brittany put Rachel back on her feet and patted her head gently.

"What happened?" Brittany asked her eyes volleying between Rachel and Santana. Santana looked really really upset. Brittany might not have actually known her that long but she felt like she had forever, and she knew that whatever it was Santana's eyes were trying to tell her wasn't good.

Rachel sniffled. "I...um..."

Brittany frowned and rubbed Rachel's arm up and down soothingly. "It's okay Rach, you can tell me. I promise I can help. I mean, I might not know a lot of really big words or Algebra but I'm really good with advice." Brittany said.

Rachel gave Brittany a teeny-tiny, barely there smile, but it was a smile nonetheless and Brittany beamed encouragingly back.

"I'm falling for Quinn," Rachel started, her eyes shimmering with distress and sadness. "And she kissed me and ran away."

Brittany frowned. "Rach, oh my God, I'm sorry sweetie." She said gently.

Rachel frowned and leaned into Brittany's side. "I don't know what I did wrong." Rachel said.

Santana balked. "Rachel you didn't do anything. Quinn's just fucked up."

Brittany shot daggers at Santana. "That's not true Santana! And it's not nice either. That's my best friend you're talking about. Quinn is as fucked up as everyone else, including the three of us."

Santana gaped, and then looked down at the ground, properly chastised. "I'm sorry." Santana mumbled. Rachel smiled and giggled into Brittany's shoulder. "Don't listen to her. Quinn's had a really rough past and she's just scared." Brittany told Rachel.

"Scared? Of me?" Rachel asked like she couldn't fathom that she had the power to break Quinn's heart. Brittany didn't understand how either girl could be so oblivious. Quinn and Rachel had practically _revolved _around each other ever since they met.

"Yeah Rachel, like...she's totally falling in love with you and that's really scary for her." Brittany explained. "I don't know what she's told you about what happened before and that's totally not my place to do, but I can tell you that everyone she's loved before has hurt her really badly."

Rachel nodded. "She told me about her parents. And Ashley." Rachel said quietly.

"Okay so like, you know that her parents were really super mean and just ignored her and yelled at her all the time right?" Brittany asked. Rachel nodded. "But she loved them a lot, no matter what she says because they're her parents. Everyone loves their parents deep down, even if that's buried under tons of hurt and anger, right?"

Rachel gaped and nodded, looking stricken by Brittany's surprisingly true words.

"And like...her model for showing love wasn't really good. Because they didn't really pay attention to her or whatever unless she screwed up, and they didn't even interact with each other. And she tried really hard with Ashley not to be like them but it was hard for her. And I don't mean that she was abusive to Ashley because she wasn't and she really did care about her, but it was like she was so afraid of being like her Dad that she just closed herself off and everything." Brittany explained. "And Ashley understood that and didn't love Quinn enough to deal with it, so she left."

Rachel's eyes started brimming with tears and Brittany pulled her closer.

"And all that stuff hurt her, so so much." Brittany said. "And I mean, she loves us and we love her and she's good with us because we _understand _her and help her and do what she needs us too without her asking but it took a long time for her to learn to trust us. The only reason she trusted Puck was because he like...he saved her life. And it was more of like, she had no one else and she kind of needed to trust him or else she would have gone off the deep end."

"So if I want to be with her I have to be really patient?" Rachel said with a sniffle.

Brittany nodded. "Yeah. And you need to understand that she's just terrified. You may be really really little, but you're actually this huge thing in her life, like metaphorically. It's really hard for Quinn to let people in and I think that she thinks shes better off alone."

"Why?" Rachel asked, wide eyed.

"Well I mean...you know how we all have those really negative thoughts about ourselves that we kind of _know _aren't true but we still believe anyway? Like, I know in my heart that there are people that are way stupider than I am but sometimes I still think that I'm the dumbest person on the planet." Brittany explained.

"You're not dumb at all, Brittany!" Rachel exclaimed, outraged. Brittany smiled.

"Thanks Rachel, but that's not the point. The point is that Quinn thinks that she can't like...love people because she thinks that it's her fault that Ashley and her parents couldn't love her back. But she knows deep down that it isn't true but she doesn't like, listen to that part of her that's saying that because the part yelling that it was all her fault is way louder."

Rachel shook her head. "That isn't true though!"

"You're right. And I mean, yeah. Quinn's stubborn and a pain to deal with and of course she did have a part in Ashley breaking up with her, but Ashley could have been like you know, a grown up and talked to her about it instead of just disappearing. It takes two people to tango you know?" Brittany said. "If Ashley cared enough about her, about them even, then I think she should have tried to talk more about it. But instead she just acted like everything was fine and ran off one day when it got to be too much. That isn't healthy."

"So I guess...what I'm trying to say Rachel, is she's scared because like, she's gone through so much in her life and everyone she's truly loved has rejected her, and like...she's falling in love with you and she doesn't want you to reject her." Brittany summed up.

"So I have to be really patient and prove to her that I'm not going to just up and leave?" Rachel asked.

Brittany nodded. "Exactly. And it'll probably be really hard, but you know what? Quinn's been my friend for a really long time and we're super close, and I can promise you it's worth it."

Rachel nodded and pulled Brittany into a big, tight hug. "Thanks Brittany." .

* * *

Quinn leaned up against the outside wall of the Starbucks, patiently waiting for Kurt. She wasn't sure what time it was as she noticed the sun dipping lower and lower, casting painted hues of orange and purple across the sky.

Finally the van pulled up to the corner and Quinn jumped in, ignoring the pointed looks Kurt, Finn, and Puck where throwing her and settling in the middle seat as far away from Finn as possible.

Kurt pulled the van back out into the road and they slowly made their way back to the venue in silence.

It was Finn that finally spoke up. "I can't believe you didn't tell me about you and Rachel." He said, his voice accusatory.

Quinn rolled her eyes and looked out the window up at the sky which was slowly fading to black. Finn always had a way of making himself the victim in situations that he wasn't involved in.

"I mean, everyone knew. Puck, Kurt, Sam. Who else?" Finn asked.

"Finn." Kurt said, his tone harsh and warning.

"No, Kurt. Let me finish. I thought we were friends, Quinn. We're in a band together. And I never would have said those things if I knew what was going on." Finn continued. "Like, do I even matter?"

"Finn, do you understand how absolutely ridiculous you're being?" Quinn asked. "This has _nothing _to do with you at all." Quinn said, not wanting to get into this. "It actually has nothing to do with anyone besides Rachel and myself, so if everyone would so kindly mind their own fucking business that would be _great._"

"It is our business though!" Finn yelled, his face getting red with frustration. "We care about you Quinn and you're implosioning!"

"Imploding." Quinn corrected.

"What the fuck ever, you know what I mean. This situation has you all messed up and I'm one of your best friends. Even if I couldn't do help anything with her, I would've been there for _you_. I would've listened or cracked some dumb jokes to cheer you up. And like, I can't help but think what happened today is my fault because of that stuff I said." Finn said.

"Wait, you guys know?" Quinn asked, looking at the three other people in the car.

Kurt sighed. "We couldn't find either of you so we went looking, and we found Rachel sobbing on the roof."

Quinn sunk back into her chair and covered her eyes with her hands, feeling all the color drain from her face. "Really?"

"Yeah honey. You really hurt her." Kurt said.

"Why?" Quinn asked, confused. She expected Rachel to be _pissed, _not crying.

"Because Quinn, for some reason unknown to me or anyone fucking else because you've been such an asshole, she's falling for you." Puck spat.

Quinn felt frustration upset and anger all at herself in that moment. What the Hell?

"Yeah, who thought _you _would be the high maintenance one with her record of diva storm outs?" Kurt asked, glancing up into the mirror and arching an eyebrow.

Quinn didn't respond and the rest of the ride back to the venue was spent in silence as she contemplated what exactly to do next.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: **Ahhhhh so I'm sorry this has taken a long time. I did warn you guys though! Anyway, I just want to say how great you all are and thank you for sticking with this story! This chapter is pure, ridiculous, cheesy fluffy goodness. After this, there are still going to be a few chapters left.

The last chapter seemed to spark some strong feelings in a few of you, and well, I'd like to address some things specifically to the people I couldn't PM back. So feel free to skip this next section and go down to the chapter.

_Fan: _I totally understand your point. Quinn's friends aren't acting that nice to her right now. I think the number one thing to keep in mind while reading this story is that even though it's an AU and these people have grown up and dealt with things differently than what happened to them in the show, they're still their characters and I'm trying to write them that way. So while Finn, Puck, and Kurt (because sometimes he can come off as such) aren't the assholes they are in the show, they still are kind of self centered and get frustrated with Quinn's nonsense (hence Finn's whole "_Why didn't you tell me we're friends_" rant). That being said, I agree with you and I'm glad you brought it up. I don't think I would have realized it was occurring so frequently in this story without your comment. Things are going to be addressed with everyone as the chapters go by though, and your comment has kind of helped me rethink how those conversations are going to be like.

* * *

_Patience and Space._

Those were the three words Rachel kept repeating to herself over the course of the past few days. A guideline she had a hard time following since most of her time was spent stuffed into an overcrowded van with the person she was trying to give space. Out of the van was another story completely. Quinn had taken steps to actively avoid _everyone, _not just Rachel, and everyone had given up trying to reach out to her. Sam and Puck had taken up guitar lesson duty and the other night when they had stayed in a hotel, Quinn slept in the van in order to avoid everyone. The shows were taking a hit, the band's lack of chemistry was very apparent. It had been a few days since "The Rooftop Scene", as Rachel referred to it, and she was going out of her mind.

To make matters worse, they were due to be in LA in a few days. The show that night was in Phoenix, then they had a day off, then a show in San Diego and then finally Los Angeles. Her sixth sense was telling her that her scheduled PR time with Puck in the city was going to lead to more disaster.

Rachel wished she never accepted this stupid role. In fact, she wished she had stuck to the stage, where horrible career dampening zombie films and beautiful yet frustrating women with pink hair didn't stray. Her heart was broken and her mind was cycling between angry, sad, and confused. She longed to see those emerald eyes looking at her again, and yet she also wanted to scream at her to stop being a moron and stop pushing her away.

She really had no idea what to do anymore. Her natural instincts told her to do _something_, she was Rachel Berry for Sondheim's sake! She was not one to sit around and wait for anything to happen. She clawed her way to the top and dug her claws into the things she wanted, whether it was getting groundbreaking parts or those vegan friendly pleather stilettos last Black Friday at 75% off. She so desperately wanted to plan some sort of grand romantic gesture for Quinn to tell her, 'Yes, I'm falling for you, too!'. It was getting to the point where she didn't think she could fight it anymore. Grand decelerations were in her blood.

"Rachel?" Brittany asked sweetly with a note of concern in her voice.

Rachel blinked her eyes hard once to focus her thoughts back to setting up the merch booth. She had been spacing out again, picturing an elaborate scene that involved her luring Quinn up to the rooftop and serenading her with Somewhere from West Side Story.

"Yes Brittany?" Rachel asked, setting back to work.

"I was just wondering where you went off to. You totally had that 'I'm in Rachel Land' look." Brittany said with a shrug as she rooted through the money box, sorting the bills.

Rachel plastered a smile on her face. "I was just thinking about stuff. Nothing important really." She lied with a sigh.

Brittany shut the tin box with a thud and snapped the lock. "Yeah? Not about how you're sick of Quinn isolating herself from everyone, causing the shows to be off the past few nights and making you anxious?" She asked with a smirk.

Rachel shook her head. "No." She said in a defiant tone, silently if Brittany was a psychic.

Brittany ripped open a t shirt box and set about sorting its contents by size. "For an actress, you're a horrible liar."

Rachel pouted as she pinned up the last t-shirt. She leaned against the table and folded her arms across her chest. "I'm just so confused about this situation. It's been 3 days and she hasn't talked to anyone and I'm not sure what to do." Rachel admitted, tugging her bottom lip between her teeth.

"Well," Brittany said and stood up straight. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know." Rachel said quietly, looking at the dirty tile floor and scuffing it with her shoe. "I have a lot of ridiculous ideas running through my head but I don't think I'd ever try them."

"Like what?" Brittany asked.

Rachel sighed. "I want to declare my emotions to her in song." Rachel admitted.

Brittany gasped and bounced. "Oh Rachel! You should so totally do that!"

Rachel stared incredulously at Brittany as she bounded up and down excitedly. "Seriously?" She asked.

Brittany nodded vigorously. "Why not?"

Rachel sputtered, dumbfounded. "But what happened to patience and space?"

Brittany shrugged. "Well, Quinn has been taking a long time. I don't know what she's doing really. But honestly, I think it's a good idea. I think she'd like to know that shes not the only one feeling this way, that you want to give her a chance."

"But wouldn't that be forcing her?" Rachel asked.

"No. Not if you're just telling her your feelings." Brittany said.

Rachel thought about it. "You really think this would work?"

Brittany smiled and nodded, finally stilling her body. "Yes! I think it'll be amazing. I know I told you to let her figure it out, but she's been taking a long time and that's because she's scared right? I think you should show her that there's nothing to be afraid of, and I think doing that will work."

"Think what will work?" Santana asked, walking up to the merch booth carrying three water bottles. She passed one to Rachel and Brittany and leaned against Brittany's side.

"Rachel's getting sick of Quinn avoiding her and she wants to sing to her." Brittany said.

Santana looked dumbstruck for a moment, wide eyes bouncing between the two women. Then her face spit into a slow grin before she burst into laughter.

"Seriously? What is this, High School Musical? You want to sing to her?" Santana asked breathlessly.

"Yes Santana, and to be frank I'm surprised you're so shocked by this." Rachel said. "In the past I have done things like this."

Santana shook her head. "Yeah when we were in high school and to fellow theater geeks. This is such a bad idea."

Brittany frowned and shot Santana a stern look. "Why? I think it's a great idea."

Santana looked at Brittany. "Seriously? You don't think it will all be some futile attempt that ends up with Babs over here in tears and Quinn storming off to go brood and be stoic in some corner?" Santana asked.

Rachel shook her head. Santana was probably right, it was a ridiculous idea that would lead to Quinn hating her and Rachel's heart breaking.

"Don't listen to Santana, Rachel. I'm Quinn's friend and I think I know a little bit more about how she works." Brittany said. "I think it's a great idea. I don't think there's any way this plan could fail either."

Santana raised her eyebrow.

"She's not trying to seduce her, San. She's trying to tell her that she feels the same way and wants to give her a chance. She's encouraging her." Brittany explained.

"Whatever. I don't understand why you can't just be normal and _confront _her with _words_. Just, if you do this don't go overboard or you'll scare the poor girl away forever." Santana said.

Rachel scoffed. "Your lack of faith in me is astounding."

"Yep, sure. Astounding. Meanwhile you're planning to rent a grand piano, put on a ball gown, and hiring a string quartet." Santana bit back.

Rachel's face reddened in a mixture of embarrassment and anger (Santana totally knew her to well) and turned around, placing her bottle of water on the merch table and storming out of the lobby.

Santana laughed. "A diva storm off. I haven't gotten her to do one of those in a long time."

* * *

"Quinn!" Finn called, running down the street to try to catch up to Quinn. Quinn huffed and rolled her eyes, not turning around to watch as Finn clumsily maneuvered himself around the pedestrians walking through the bustling main street. Instead, she turned to the left and quickly scanned her eyes over the sign hanging over a small shop to make sure she was in the right place and that the store hadn't gone bankrupt since the last time she had visited.

Quinn opened the door to the tinkling of a bell and the smell of incense and smiled. The first time she had been to Phoenix, almost 3 years ago, she had stumbled upon Ghoul Spit Records by complete chance and immediately fell in love. The shop was bursting at the seams with all types of new and used media- movies, comics, books, music- on all different types of formats. The store stereo was always playing some type of local band that labeled themselves as some obscure genre, and they always burned something that smelled good in mass quantities to cover up the massive amounts of pot the employees smoked in the back.

It had a homey kind of feel to it even though she lived too far away to be a regular. She could get lost in the bins of old vinyls and stacks of books and comics for hours.

Today, she had sought this store out for a very specific item. Online shopping wasn't an option since urgency was an issue, and due to the fact that she was mobile 44 weeks out of the year. If she couldn't find it here, she'd be shit out of luck and would have to reorganize her plan.

Over the past few days she had been drawing a plan of attack on how to make things up to Rachel. It had been hard to come up with something dramatic as to appeal to Rachel's romantic side, and equal parts Quinn- enough that she didn't feel ridiculous doing it. It had been hard to come up with, and even harder to not just breakdown and beg for forgiveness each time she caught Rachel staring at her with varying expressions. Sometimes, it was a desperate look of longing, sometimes it was a look of anger. Either way, Quinn knew that she needed to stick to the plan if she was really going to win her over.

She immediately dived into the bins of records and set about searching. She grumbled under her breath when a few minutes later, the tinkling of the bell and the sound of Finn's huffing disrupted the atmosphere.

"Quinn." Finn said. "I wasn't sure I was in the right place until I saw you come in. This place is kind of hard to find twice. Um, I really need to talk to you."

"I'm looking for something." Quinn deadpanned, not lifting her eyes as she thumbed through a milk crate of albums.

"I can help, tell me what you need." Finn offered, coming to stand next to her.

Quinn inhaled deeply before turning to face him completely. "I thought you were mad at me." She said coolly, looking Finn straight in the eyes.

Finn squirmed under Quinn's unwavering glare. He fisted his hands into the pockets of his jeans and shrugged sheepishly. "That's what I want to talk about."

Quinn raised her eyebrow and nodded her head once, signaling for him to continue.

"Okay, well like- I was talking to Kurt and Sam and Artie and Brittany and Puck-"

"So everyone." Quinn interrupted.

"Yeah. And like...they said I was wrong to be mad at you." Finn stated, down casting his eyes to the carpeted floor.

Quinn waited a beat for him to continue and felt frustration bubble through her when he didn't.

"So that's why you chased me through the streets of Phoenix? To tell me everyone thought you were wrong? Frankly Finn, that's not that rare of an occurrence." Quinn bit out, turning back to flick through the next crate of albums.

"I...no Quinn. I um...Kurt said that I was making this all about me when you were obviously hurting and I should be more understanding that you were confused about your feelings. And um...then Puck said that if anything you should be pissed at me because I was the one who convinced you that Rachel felt otherwise." Finn said.

Quinn laughed humorlessly. "In case you haven't noticed, I _am_ mad at you."

"I uh...yeah." Finn stammered awkwardly. "I did."

Quinn growled in frustration, the record she was looking for not in the two crates they should have been in, and walked to another bin where it possibly could have been, leaving Finn in her dust.

"I...this is hard for me okay but um. I'm sorry, Quinn." Finn said, taking a few steps forward.

"It's hard for you." Quinn stated. It wasn't a question but Finn nodded.

"Yeah, like...I don't know. It's hard to man up and say you're wrong. You know? But like, I was totally wrong. Way out of line." Finn said. "I was...upset that you didn't trust me enough to tell me about your feelings." He admitted.

"Finn..." Quinn exhaled quietly, looking up from her search and meeting Finn's eyes for the first time. They were dark, and gleaming with a hint of humility and guilt that she hadn't seen since the time in high school where he had bailed on plans with Kurt and Kurt ended up getting thrown into the dumpsters while waiting for him.

"But I shouldn't have attacked you like that." Finn finished.

"You know, I didn't actually tell any of them what was going on. They all figured it out on their own." Quinn said. "I didn't _want_ to tell anyone."

Finn nodded. "Yeah. I've always been obvious."

Quinn looked at him funny for a second and he shook his head with a small smile. "I mean oblivious." He corrected himself.

Quinn let a small smile tug at her lips. "There you go."

"So yeah- Quinn I'm sorry for getting mad at you for a really stupid reason."

Quinn shrugged and abandoned her search. She stepped up to Finn and wrapped her arms around his tall frame, pulling him down into a hug.

"It's okay Finn." She said. "It's not like I don't get mad at you for stupid reasons all the time."

Finn wrapped his arms around her shoulders and laughed. "Nah but that's different. The reasons you get mad are stupid, but not because you're overreacting. It's usually that Sam and Puck and I do something genuinely dumb."

Quinn laughed and broke the hug. "True."

Finn smiled and let out a relieved 'whew'. "So now that that's settled, what are you looking for?"

Quinn turned back to the bin and restarted her search. "A record pertinent to my plan for wooing Rachel."

Finn nodded. "Can I help you look?" He asked. "It's only fair if I do since I did kind of screw it up- even though I didn't do it on purpose."

"Sure." Quinn said. "Actually, would you mind helping me in another way?"

"Anything." Finn offered.

"I need you to be the bait." Quinn said, looking up with a sly smile.

Finn furrowed his eyebrows into an expression that was either confusion or skepticism. "You're taking her fishing?"

Quinn smiled and shook her head, before diving into an explanation of her plan.

* * *

"Really?" Santana asked, eyeing Rachel up and down.

"Seriously." Rachel said, smoothing her hands up and down the front of the _one _dress Santana had allowed her to pack. She was thankful she chose to bring this one. It was a black dress, with a scoop neck and a hem line that fell about mid thigh. It was nice, but not too suggestive.

"Have you ever even listened to Say Anything before?" Santana scoffed.

"No. But when I asked Sam what a good band to serenade someone with was he suggested them, and after a thorough listen through of their entire discography-which by the way is _ridiculous_, that guy has written well over 500 songs- I figured this song would be the most suited for the message I'm trying to convey." Rachel explained. "Plus Sam already knew how to play it."

"Okay." Santana said trying not to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. "You look hot, by the way."

Rachel beamed and turned to smile at Santana. "Thank you."

Rachel's plan had come to fruition in a matter of hours. Fortunately enough for her she had arranged many impromptu performances from her reign as Glee club captain. The plan itself wasn't that great, with plenty of holes and opportunities for failure, but Rachel couldn't bring herself to wait any longer.

The plan was to draw Quinn up to the roof, where their deep conversations tended to happen, and sing Walk Through Hell by Say Anything to her. After the show (which was currently in full swing) she was going to have Sam text Quinn an 'elaborate story' which involved him accidentally getting locked on the roof and no one else answering their phones. Hopefully she'd buy it and come up.

Suddenly, Sam ran into the backstage area gripping his guitar case. "They just started playing their last song. Time to rock and roll." He said with a wink. Rachel nodded nervously and followed him out into the hall and up the stairs.

Getting Sam to help wasn't that hard to do. During their lesson, she had promised him a prosthetic leg prop she had stolen from the set of Decaying Hearts for a Halloween party if he helped her out with something. He ecclesiastically agreed to helping her with whatever she needed. She knew that Sam probably would have done it without the bribe, but she was really looking to get rid of the thing. It was a win win for both of them.

They got to the roof and Sam turned around and smiled. "Alright, we'll give her 15 minutes to cool down and then I'll text her. You nervous?"

"No way." Rachel said, rather unconvincingly.

Sam smiled. "It's okay to be nervous, though you do realize you have nothing to worry about right?"

Rachel tapped the foot of her flat against the roof. "I...know she has feelings for me but you don't think this is over the top?"

Sam shrugged. "Not at all. To be honest I'm surprised she hasn't tried something like this yet."

Rachel looked skeptical. "Nah really dude. She's just...I don't know. Nervous around you I guess. I know you probably know this already, but you're the first girl in a long time she's actually even thought of pursuing."

"Really?" Rachel asked, dumbfounded.

Sam nodded. "Yeah. And it's not for lack of offers. I mean, she has people lined up at her door trying to get with her."

Rachel cocked her head. "So she has a queue of suitors all vying for her affections, something that normally gives someone a huge self esteem boost, yet she's convinced I wouldn't want her?"

Sam shrugged. "I guess it's crazy. But I mean...you're a beautiful movie star and you think she's going to reject you. So you don't really get to say anything." He said with a grin.

Rachel smiled. "Thanks Sam." She said.

Sam looked at his phone and grinned. "Showtime!"

* * *

"You all set?" Finn whispered loudly into her ear as they walked off stage.

"All set with what?" Puck asked curiously as they headed back to their dressing room.

"The grand master plan to woo the pants of Rachel Berry." Finn said with a grin.

"Finn!" Quinn groaned, wiping at her sweaty forehead with the sleeve of her t shirt.

"What? He was going to find out anyway." Finn said.

"You let this bastard in on planning but not me?" Puck asked, smiling despite the accusatory tone to his words.

"You're idiots." She said.

"Nah, I'm glad you're manning up." Puck said seriously as they walked into the dressing room.

"Alright." Quinn said. "I'm going to change my shirt and go up there. When I leave give me like 5 minutes to set things up and then go get her."

As Quinn moved to get her bag Kurt barged into the dressing room. "Have you seen Sam? It's time to start packing up and he's nowhere to be found!" Kurt yelled.

Everyone exchanged looks and shook their heads. "Nope." They all said.

Kurt groaned loudly and left the room.

Quinn stripped her shirt off in the middle of the room and changed. Living with the guys in close quarters had completely demolished her sense of modesty when it came to them. They had all seen each other in states far more compromising than nudity.

As she fastened the last button of her red plaid shirt her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and sighed as she read through the message. "Well I guess that explains where Sam is."

"Where?" Puck asked curiously, spraying his bare chest with a ridiculous amount of body spray so he wouldn't offend any of the fans they would talk to later.

"He locked himself on the roof. I guess it only locks from the inside?" Quinn said, picking up her bag of supplies. "I guess that gives me an excuse to go up there. Remember Finn, give me some time before you bring her up."

Finn nodded as he fiddled with a cold water bottle. "Gotcha Quinn. Go get 'em!" He said encouragingly.

Quinn took a deep breath and then left the dressing room, nodding and thanking all of the techs and band guys congratulating her for a show well done as she made her way to the stairs. Clutching the bag in a death grip to make up for her sweaty palms, she ascended the stairs to find the door propped open with a large cinder block.

"Huh." Quinn said to herself. "He must have got someone else up to help him quicker."

She stepped out into the brisk night air and was utterly confused to see Sam standing with his back to her, guitar in hand.

"Have you lured me up here to kill me?" Quinn joked as she walked over to meet him. Sam turned around and grinned at her before stepping to the side.

Quinn's heart jumped into her throat at the sight of Rachel sitting dangerously on the edge of the roof with her legs crossed at the ankles, looking absolutely gorgeous with her hair done in loose curls and an expensive looking black dress.

"What is this?" Quinn asked as she stared at Rachel, completely dumbstruck. This didn't make any sense at all- unless...

"Oh God Rachel, I'm sorry please don't jump!" Quinn said, dropping her duffel bag and moving forward.

"What?" Rachel asked, confused. "What, why would you think I was going to jump?"

Quinn stopped, a few feet from Rachel and Sam and volleyed between looking at the two. "I...you're all dressed up and Sam lied about the door so like, maybe he didn't want to text me that he was talking you down?"

Rachel was quiet for a moment before actually laughing. "Oh God...and everyone thinks I'm the dramatic one."

Quinn furrowed her eyebrows, crossing her arms over her chest defensively.

"Aw, you made her mad." Sam interjected with a chuckle.

Rachel stood up, smoothing her palms over the skirt of her dress and stepped up to Quinn, leaving only a few feet between them.

"You ran away the other day without giving me time to respond." Rachel said gently, warm brown eyes locked on to Quinn's own. She reached out and gently touched Quinn's forearm. "And then, you kind of just shut down. I tried to give you some space so you could work things out on your own and give you time so you could see how _dumb _you were being, but as you might know I am incredibly impatient."

Quinn blinked hard, her stomach twisting due to the amount of butterflies fluttering in it. "So this is-"

"My way of telling you what I need to say." Rachel said. She looked over at Sam and gave him a quick nod, before turning back to face Quinn. She paused to take a deep breath, and then opened her mouth and started to sing quietly.

"_And if I could swim..."_

Quinn felt a tidal of emotion over take her, immediately recognizing the song as Sam came in with the guitar part. She didn't know whether to cry or laugh or be pissed that Rachel had beat her to it, with the exact same song she had picked out.

Instead, she just beamed as Rachel sang the song _perfectly._ Her voice soft and full of emotion as she let the song say all the things Quinn needed to hear. And wanted to say. Quinn felt overwhelmed with all of the things flooding through her chest in the best way possible.

Rachel actually wanted her, wanted to be there for her. She was willing to help Quinn with her demons and walk the extra mile for her.

"Rachel." Quinn croaked out once Rachel had finished the song. Rachel smiled, eyes bright, and turned to Sam.

"Thanks Sam. I think Quinn and I need a moment." Rachel said quietly. Sam just grinned and nodded before leaving the two girls to talk without saying a word.

Quinn just gaped while Rachel took a few deep breaths. "Quinn, I know that there's a lot of stuff you're worried about, and honestly there are things I'm worried about to. I just want you to know that I'm going to fight for this- if that's what you still want."

"Rachel...I really don't know what to say..." Quinn said quietly, staring in awe.

"That's okay. You can take your time. I just wanted you to know that the attraction is mutual, and I've grown to care about you over the short amount of time we've spent together."

Quinn just shook her head and laughed, before turning and walking to the bag she had dropped in her state of worry. She picked it up and walked back to stand in front of a confused looking Rachel.

"Everything about you is so completely unexpected." Quinn said with a small smile. "I never planned to let myself fall for someone again, but you completely ruined that."

Rachel huffed out of amusement and beamed.

"I had a plan, tonight. I was going to have Finn bring you up here with this ridiculous story about how he was up here and saw a constellation that _totally _looked like Bette Midler if you squinted your eyes just right."

"I never would have believed him due to the fact that I can't believe he know who she is." Rachel interrupted.

"But No, you wouldn't have- but it's Finn, and he would have insisted and begged and gave you the puppy dog look to get you to do it." Quinn said.

"Anyway, once you got up here I was going to be standing there with this-"

Quinn dropped to her knees and opened her duffel bag, pulling out an old boombox, a gardenia, and a CD case. She handed Rachel the gardenia and Rachel flushed beautifully. Then Quinn opened the CD and popped it into the boom box and pressed play.

"I spent two hours in this rare record store trying to find this on vinyl, but couldn't. Instead I found it on the CD it was originally released on, and honestly that worked better." Quinn said. She pressed a few buttons to get the CD to skip to the right track and heaved the boombox with her to stand up fully. "I have this on my phone, but I figured this way was a little more romantic.

"I know this is totally completely cheesy, and even though we've both been out of high school for years I figured you would be a sucker for the dramatic aspect of this. Plus, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to reenact that scene from Say Anything with the band that's named after it." Quinn said before pressing play.

Rachel's jaw dropped as the recorded version of the song she had just sang drifted out of the speakers and through the air. "No way." She said shaking her head slightly and giggling. "That's too perfect."

Quinn beamed, before leaning to place the boombox back onto the ground. "Quite the coincidence huh?" Quinn said, stepping closer to Rachel and looking down into her deep brown eyes.

"I was going to apologize for running away the other day. I was going to admit that even though I was-_am_ scared of my feelings for you, I knew that I'd regret it if I let you slip through my fingers without trying to grasp hold. And then I was going to ask you to go out on a date with me." Quinn explained.

"Yeah?" Rachel asked breathlessly, her eyes shimmering.

"Yes." Quinn said smiling. "But of course, you had to beat me to it. You even picked the same song as me! Though, I admit I think it's fit better that you sang it to me. I didn't even know you liked Say Anything."

Rachel grinned and looked down, bashfully. "I didn't, not until today really." Rachel admitted before looking back up to Quinn.

They stood still for a moment, drinking in each others presence. Quinn's heart was beating erratically in her chest, no longer fueled by the sheer adrenaline of fear but out of excitement.

"I guess I should still need to say those things. Rachel, I really am sorry that I freaked out the other day. I messed up, I let a lot of things get to me and I ended up hurting both of us in the process. Will you give me another chance by letting me take you out on a date?" Quinn asked, quietly.

Rachel gulped. "Of course Quinn, I think that question is irrelevant considering that I already declared that I was willing to walk through hell for you."

Quinn shook her head and laughed, finally wrapping her arms around Rachel's waist. "Thank you." She said seriously.

Rachel instinctively dropped the gardenia she was holding to wrap her arms around Quinn's neck before pulling her down into a gentle, slow kiss.

Quinn squeaked in surprise, her plan was to only hug Rachel but of course that was another plan Rachel ended up breaking. She smiled at the thought as she tilted her head and sunk into the gentle warm press of Rachel's lips.

Unlike their first kiss which was demanding and harsh, this kiss was soft and full of promise. It ended all to quickly, with a few sweet parting pecks, but still some how managed to leave them both breathless. Quinn leaned to rest her head against Rachel's forehead.

"Free tomorrow night?" Quinn asked with a grin after she caught her breath.

"You know I am." Rachel stated.

"Awesome." Quinn said, stupidly. The amount of happiness flooding through her system right now was actually mind numbing.

"I really hate to break this moment, John Cusack, but you should probably get downstairs to help pack the van and talk to your fans." Rachel whispered quietly.

"Yeah, you're right Max Bemis." Quinn said.

"I have no idea who that is, though I'm going to assume that's the song's composer." Rachel said.

"You're assumptions are correct." Quinn said. She pressed a quick kiss to Rachel's cheek and untangled herself from the embrace. "Let's get downstairs. I'm sure Brittany and Santana are a mess without you to help at the merch booth."

"Ha!" Rachel laughed. "I'm a mess _at _the merch booth. They're probably doing way better without me."

"Great!" Quinn exclaimed, stopping the music and repacking her bag. "Then you can help load the van!"

Rachel groaned and rolled her eyes as she bent down to pick up the gardenia she had dropped. "Did you know gardenias are my favorite flowers?" Rachel asked. "Or are you really adept at reading minds?"

Quinn picked up her bag and stood up. "Yes actually, Wikipedia is pretty useful."

Rachel placed her hands on her hips and glared. "No it is not! Anyone can change anything in those articles! That was a very risky move!"

Quinn smiled, and with her free hand reached out and gently pried Rachel's hand free in order to slide their fingers together. "Hey, it was either right and I ended up super charming you, or it was wrong and I still ended up charming you a little because I got you flowers. I say that was worth the risk."

They made their way to the door of the roof when suddenly Finn burst through. "I can't find Rachel anywhere!" He exclaimed in a panic. "Brittany and Santana said they had no clue where she was and-" His eyes widened at the sight of the two of them holding hands.

"Hey Rachel." He said, his panicked expression quickly turning into a victorious grin. "How did you get her up here without me?"

"I was 10 steps ahead of you guys." Rachel said smugly.

Quinn rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Alright, lets get downstairs. I'm sure Kurt's having a conniption fit due to the fact that 4 of us have gone missing."

As the three walked down the stairs, the muffled sound of Kurt screaming their names in frantic annoyance met their ears.

* * *

**A/N 2: **As I said, pure ridiculous Romantic Comedy nonsense. The song in this chapter was A Walk Through Hell by Say Anything. There are a bunch of different versions out there, though the one Quinn had played was off of their Menorah/Majorah EP. Also if you have the time you should check out my one shot, That Girl's Got Whoa! 'Till next time everyone!


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